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AUSTRIA. 




^V^OMEB" of SjLAVO:J^IA 



^^^41141^1 



CONTAINING 
A DESCRIPTION 

OP THE 

MANNERS, CUSTOMS, CHARACTER AND 

COSTUMES OF THE PEOPLE OF THAT EMPIRE. 



BY FREDERICK SHOBERL. 



ILLUSTRATED BY 
TWELVE COJiOTJRED ENGBAVINGS. 



The proper study of ttiaukiad is m^n.—Pope. 



PUBLISHED BY C. S. WILLIAMS. 




W. Brown, Printer. 



1828. 



3)3 1^ 



PREFACE, 



On turning over the pages of this work, some readers 
may possibly be surprised to find that so large a propor- 
tion of the engravings belong to one of the countries 
composing the Austrian empire. When, however, it is 
considered that a high degree of civilization tends to assi- 
milate the manners, amusements, and dress of the great 
mass of the inhabitants of those countries in which it pre- 
vails ; and that the people of the German states of this 
empire are scarcely, if at all surpassed in that respect by 
any nation in Europe ; it will be evident that they must 
exhibit fewer of those peculiar characteristics which it is 
the object of this work to collect and delineate. 

Hungary stands in a very different predicament. Peo- 
pled by tribes belonging to many different nations, whose 
distinctive habits, manners, and prejudices have not been 
melted down by refinement and cultivation, it affords much 
more ample materials for the pencil than Austria, properly 
so called. For this reason, by far the greater part of the 
embellishments have been selected from among the singu- 
lar, picturesque and romantic costumes of that kingdom 
and its dependant provinces. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. PACE 

I. — Provinces of the Austrian Empire — Their Extent and 

Population 1 

n, — Of the different Nations of the Austrian Dominions — 
The Jews — The Germans — The Slavonians, inclu- 
ding the Bohemians — The Slowacks — The Wendes 
and the Rascians of Illyria — The Magyares or Hun- 
garians — The Walachians — The Zingares or Gip- 
sies — The Armenians — The Greeks, Turks, &c. 2 

III. — Religions — Roman Catholics — Greek Church — Arme- 
nians—Protestants — Socinians — Jews— Mahometans 9 

IV. — Character of the People of Austria ... 13 

AtrSTKIA, lOWER AND UPPER. 

V. — Inhabitants of Lower Austria — Manners of the Peo- 
ple of Vienna — Amusements — Houses — Population 
and Mortality — Shops — Paved Streets — The Fire- 
Watch — Costumes of Upper Austria . . .16 

STTHIA. 

VI. — Costume of the Inhabitants— The Johannaeum at Gratz 26 

B0HE3IIA. 

VII. — Costumesof the Bohemians .... 28 



VIII.— Costumes of the Inhabitants — Account of the Hau- 

nacks — Peasants of the Frontiers ... 30 

THE TTHOL. 

IX. — Migrations of the Tyrolese — Their Frankness — Their 
Attachment to the House of Austria — Anecdote of 
the Archduchess Elizabeth — Literary Turn of the 
Tyrolese — Their Extraordinary Honesty — Fondness 
for Pugihstic Exercises and the Chase — Ancient 
Practice — Moral Character— Superstition — Mecha- 
nical Genius — Persons and Costumes — National 
Songs — Custom of visiting the Graves of Relations 
— Marriage Ceremonies of the Tyrolese . . 32 



CONTENTS. 



UVNOXRY. 



CHAP. TXQH 

X. — Extent — Division — Constitution — Vast Estates of the 
Magnats — State of the Peasantry — Their Indolence 
— Thievish Disposition of the Herdsmen — Punish- 
ments — Hungarian Prison — General Appearance of 
the Peasants and their Habitations in different 
Counties — Horned Cattle — Sheep — Village Herds- 
men — Ravages of Wolves— Granaries— Costumes 49 

TRANSTLVANTA. 

XI. — Extent of Population— Manners of the Walachians — 

The Gipsies— Costumes 70 

BUKOWISTA. 

Xn.— Transfer of the Country to Austria— Extent — Popu- 
lation—Costumes 81 

THE MILITARY FRONTIERS. 

Xni. — Military Constitution — Carlstadt Frontier — Banal 

Frontier — Slavonla— Banat Frontier . . .86 

GALICIA, OR AUSTBIAU POLAND. 

XIV. — Extent and Nature of the Country — Benefits result- 
ing to the People from the Partition of Poland — 
Cruelty and Injustice of the Ancient System — Su- 
perior Degree of Security enjoyed under the Aus- 
trian Government — Mode of Building — Appearance 
of a Polish Village — Inns — Jews — Unclcanliness of 
the Poles : 100 



LIST OF PLATES. 



^1. Clementinian Women of Slavonia, Frontispiece 

4^2, Peasant of Egra in Winter dress, to face page 28 

^Z. Peasant of the Mountains of Moravia .31 

^A. Tyrolese Hunter 37 

*'5. Hungarian Peasant of the County of Weszprim ... 64 

*' 6. Armed Plaj ash 80 

^>. BoyarofSzered 82 

8. Unmarried Female of Jackobeny - . 84 

''9. Female Peasant of Philippowan 85 

^10. Tanaszia Dorojevich, Vice Haram Bassa of the Szeressans 88 

' 11. Unmarried Female of Ottochacz 93 

''12. Unmarried Female of Glina 94 



AUSTRIA, 



CHAPTER. I. 

PROVINCES OF THE AUSTRIAN EMPIRE THEIR EXTENT AND 

POPULATION. 

The empire of Austria, one of the most extensive and 
powerful of the states of Europe, is composed of provinces 
situated in Germany, Poland and Italy, and embraces the 
whole of Hungary. 

The German dominions of this monarchy consist of 
Upper and Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, 
Bohemia, Moravia, part of Silesia, and the Tyrol and 
Salzburg. 

In Poland it possesses the kingdom of GaHcia. 

The Hungarian states are : Hungary proper, Slavonia, 
Croatia, Dalmatia, Transylvania and the Bukowina. 

In Italy, Venice and the Milanese form the Lombard- 
Venetian kingdom, one of the brightest jewels in the crown 
of Austria. 

The extent and population of these provinces is shown 
in the subjoined table. 

EXTENT AND POPULATION OF THE PROVINCES OF THE 
AUSTRIAN EMPIRE. 

German 
Square miles. Inhabitants. 

The kingdom of Bohemia ." . . 956.80 3,203,222 

The Margravate of Moravia . . 417.64 ). ^^^ o„^ 

The duchy of Silesia .... 86.85 K'^^"'^"*^ 

Austria below the Enns .... 363.65 1,048,324 
Austria above the Enns, including 

the circles of the Inn and Haus- 

ruck and Salzburg 344.32 766,897 



2 



AUSTRIA. 



German 

Square miles. Inhabitants. 

The duchy of Styria 398.98 799,066 

The duchy of Carinthia . . . . 190.90 278,500 

Illyria and part of Croatia . . . 250.95 467,8: 

The Littorale, or Coast District . 176.18 422,8b x 

Tyrol and Voralberg .... 520.44 717,542 

The Lombard-Venetian kingdom . 867.50 4,111,535 

The government of Dalmatia . . 274.94 295.089 

The kingdom of Galicia . . . . 1526.12 3,755,454 

Civil Hungary, Croatia and Slavonia 4097.06 8,200,000 

Civil Transylvania \m«7n 1>510,000 

Transylvanian Military Frontiers i aa^°- '" 138,284 

Banat Frontiers 186.00 171,657 

Slavonian Frontiers 139.40 230,079 

Warasdin Military government . . 67.40 107,217 

Carlstadt Military government . . 166.40 188,906 

Banal Regiments 64.20 95,442 

12,204.48 28,178,836 



CHAPTER, n. 

OF THE DIFFERENT NATIONS IN THE AUSTRIAN DOMINIONS 
THE JEWS — THE GERMANS THE SLAVONIANS, IN- 
CLUDING THE BOHEMIANS THE SLOWACKS THE WEN- 

DES AND THE RASCIANS OR ILLYRIANS THE MAGYARES 

OR HUNGARIANS THE WALACHIANS THE ZIGANIS OR 

GIPSIES THE ARMENIANS THE GREEKS, &C. 

The population of the Austrian dominions is composed 
of different races, each having particular manners and even 
a peculiar language. All these nations are far from being 
actuated by the same spirit, or feeling the same attachment 
for the state to which they belong. This is one of the 
great causes of the political weakness of Austria; a weak- 
ness which has beea sensibly manifested in all the wars of 
invasion. United within a longer or a shorter period under 



AUSTRIA. 3 

the authority of one and the same prince, they do not form 
one compact whole. Thus the different inhabitants of the 
A nstrian states have neither the same interests nor the 

^le feeHngs. The Hungarians, the Bohemians and the 
^yrolese, people extremely jealous of their independence, 
dy not consider themselves as being of the same nation as 
tfee Anstrlans, whom most of them in fact deem beneath 
them, because in general they po«sp.sa greater vivacity and 
a more strongly marked character. There is no spirit of 
unity among them, though all are subject to the same 
sceptre. 

The principal nations distributed over the spacious do- 
minions of Austria are the Germans, the Slavonians, and 
the Magyares or Hungarians properly so called We also 
meet with Walachians, Ziganis or gypsies, Greeks, and a 
few Armenians, French and Walloons ; but these form no 
important part of the population. There is an'Other race, 
which, though of foreign extraction, is widely spread over 
these provinces as throughout every country in Europe, 
and that is the Jews. These people, who form a distinct 
nation amidst all other nations, swarm in the various pro- 
vinces of the Austrian monarchy, with the exception of 
Styria, Carinthia and upper Austria. Bohemia, Moravia, 
Hungary and Galicia contain great numbers of them. 
Thus it is calculated that there are 170,000 of them in 
Galicia, 130,000 in Hungary, 50,000 in Bohemia, and 
30,000 in Moravia. They are likewise very numerous in 
Transylvania. 

It is very generally supposed in other countries that the 
greatest part of the population of Austria consists of Ger- 
mans : but this is by no means the case. Austria, properly 
so called, is the only province that is entirely peopled by 
Germans ; all the others are more or less inhabited by 
Slavonians, and the other races mentioned above. The 
Germans are also diffused over Styria and Carinthia. In 
Bohemia, there is but one circle, that of EUbogen, which 
is entirely peopled by them. Of Moravia they occupy 
only the part situated on the confines of Austria and Sile- 
sia, as well as the districts to the south of the circles of 
Znaim and Brunn. Still less numerous in Hungary, they 
iare scarcely met with excepting in certain villages in the 



4 AUSTRIA. 

counties of Zips, Wieselburg, CEdenburg, Scharosch and 
Eisenburg. In Transylvania there are more of them : but 
their number there is inferior to that of the natives. In 
Galicia, if we except several of the principal towns, we 
find no Germans but in a few villages whither they have 
been sent by the government to introduce improvements 
into the system of agriculture. Thus most of the wealthy 
citizens of Cracow are Oermans, of Saxon or Silesian 
extraction. 

The most numerous of all the races spread over the 
territories subject to Austria is the Slavonian, now but 
little known by this generic name, on account of the im- 
mense extent of country which it inhabits. Interesting for 
more than one reason, the Slavonians are worthy alike of 
the meditation of the philosopher and the researches of the 
historian, as well on account of the vast space they occupy, 
as the uniformity of manners which they have preserved in 
all ages, notwithstanding the vicissitudes experienced by 
the governments to which they were subject. The nu- 
merous traces left by their language in various idioms in 
which we should never expect to meet with words of Sla- 
vonic origin, render the study of it of great importance. 

The Slavonian race is divided into an infinite number of 
branches, some of which are found exclusively in Russia 
and Poland, and others in the Austrian dominions. To the 
latter belong the Tshechs, or Bohemians, the Slowacks, 
the Poles, the Wendes, the Rascians, and the Croats. 

The Bohemian language, spoken in Bohemia and Mo- 
ravia, is but a dialect of the Slavonian ; but surrounded by 
German provinces, their inhabitants have adopted an alpha- 
bet which differs very little from that used in Germany. 
The Bohemian dialect is remarkable for its richness, the 
softness of its pronunciation, and the facility with which it 
adapts itself to the inflexions of song. It is daily under- 
going a change, however, from its mixture with the Ger- 
man ; and hence many words of the primitive Bohemian 
idiom are no longer understood by the common people. 
The Bohemians are accounted one of the most civilized 
of all the Slavonian races in the Austrian empire. The 
Moravians also are distinguished for their mild and gentle 
manners and their extraordinary industry. 



AUSTRIA. 5 

The Slowacks, the relics of the Moravian monarchy, 
which cdtnprehended Moravia and the north-western part 
of Hungary, are nearly confined to those two countries. 
There are nevertheless some of them in Bohemia. To 
those people particularly applies the observation of Schwart- 
ner, who remarks, that of all the inhabitants of Hungary 
the Slowacks multiply fastest. Wherever they settle, the 
Germans and Magyares gradually disappear. Thus in the 
14th century the mountainous part of the county of Gomor 
was entirely inhabited by Germans, whereas at present the 
population consists exclusively of Slowacks. 

The Wendes, who are found in Carinthia, Carniola and 
Lower Styria, as far as the frontiers of Hungary, belong 
also to the Slavonians. But among all the Slavonian tribes, 
the Croatians have retained most of their primitive man- 
ners and character. Originally of Bosnian extraction, they 
are spread not only in Croatia, but also in Hungary. At 
once soldiers and husbandmen, their religion and customs 
closely resemble those of their neighbours the Transyl- 
vanians and Slavonians. They form excellent light troops, 
and are fond of serving in the corps of Hulans. 

The Rascians or Illyrians, the last branch of the Slavo- 
nians, appear to be descended from the ancient Scythians. 
The name of Srbi which they give to themselves, seems to 
indicate that they formerly inhabited Dacia, the modern 
Servia. They principally inhabit Transylvania and Hun- 
gary. There are many of them also in the county of 
Warasdin, as well as in Croatia, where they form nearly a 
third' of the population. 

The language of the Slavonians is soft, sonorous and 
pleasing to the ear. Though spoken by people who have 
not made any great progress in the arts and sciences, it 
has nevertheless been brought to a high degree of perfec- 
tion. It has even assumed all the characters of a modern 
language, and may claim a distinguished rank among those 
of the most civiHzed nations. The turns of which it is 
susceptible, and the inversions which it has in common 
with the Greek and German, render it equally expressive 
and energetic. Copious and harmonious, it may vie with the 
Italian in melody and softness, especially when it is sung. 
A2 



5 AUSTRIA. 

This language is more widely extended than any other 
language of Europe. It is spoken throughout all, Transyl- 
vania, Galicia, Hungary, Moravia, Bohemia, and generally 
in all the provinces of Austria. It is also very common 
in Lusatia, Silesia, Poland, Lithuania, Prussia, Rus- 
sia, Moscovy, and even in Sweden. It is met with along 
the whole coast of the Adriatic, in Croatia, Slavonia, Bos- 
nia, Dalmatia, Bulgaria and Turkey in Europe. It should 
however be observed, that though all the inhabitants of 
these different countries speak the same language, yet 
their various dialects differ not only in the pronunciation 
and signification of many words ; but also in a great num- 
ber of radical words which are not to be found in the 
neighbouring dialects. The difference of these dialects is 
not governed, as might be supposed, by the intercourse 
between nation and nation, since the signification of words 
used by contiguous tribes frequently differs in the most 
striking manner. Hence neighbouring nations do not 
perhaps understand one another ; whereas those which are 
wide asunder have no difficulty to comprehend each other's 
meaning. Thus the Russian and Cossack dialects vary 
but little from those spoken by the Bosnians and the inha- 
bitants of Ragusa, whose language differs so widely from 
that of their neighbours, the Dalmatians, and the people 
of Carniola. In like manner, the Russian idiom differs 
much from that of the Poles, though the Russians are 
neighbours to that nation as the Bosnians are to the Dal- 
matians. 

Next to the Slavonians and Germans, the Magyaree or 
Hungarians are the race most widely spread in the Austrian 
monarchy. They probably derive their origin from Asia; 
and this.conjecture seems to be strengthened by the traces 
of Asiatic manners which they still retain. Unenlightened 
and disliking the arts and commerce, they indulge that in- 
dolence and apathy in which the people of Asia place their 
happiness. In this respect then the character of the Ma- 
gyares differs widely from that of the Germans and Slavo- 
nians, who engage with ardour in all sorts of speculations 
as well as retail trades. Hungary, therefore, which they 
inhabit, would be a very poor country did not the fertility 



AUSTRIA. 7 

of the soil confer on them an affluence which they never 
would derive from their own exertions. 

The Magyares are spread as far as the coasts of the 
Adriatic : a small tribe of them, known by the appellation 
of Szythes, is found near Fiume living peaceably among 
the Illyrians. The great mass of the nation, however, 
exists in Hungary, where the number of the Magyares is 
estimated at about three millions and a half. 

The Walachians appear to be with the Slavonians the 
most ancient inhabitants of the country watered by the 
Danube. In number, though very much inferior to the 
latter, they equal the Magyares ; at least in the countries 
situated eastward of the Theiss. Naturally vain, these 
people pretend to.be descendants of the Roman colonists, 
who settled from time to time in ancient Germany. They 
accordingly style themselves Uumani, to indicate this noble 
origin. It is, however, more probable that they proceed 
from a mixture of the ancient Dacians, Romans and Sla- 
vonians. Their language in fact is composed of terms 
more or less altered, which manifestly belonged to those 
different nations. But a circumstance which shows that 
the groundwork of their language is not derived from the 
Latin is, that their declensions and conjugations have no 
resemblance to those of the latter : neither do the termina- 
tions of the majority of their words correspond with those 
generally observed in the Latin. 

Without arts, and almost without religion and civilization, 
the Walachian peasants know no other wants and pleasures 
but those of a roving life. They are in general suspi- 
cious, vindictive and disposed to hate other nations ; hence 
the Hungarians and Transylvanians treat them exactly 
like slaves. The Walachians, like the Slavonians multi- 
ply fast ; and it is perhaps on this account that they are 
deemed dangerous by the Hungarians among whom they 
live, 

The Ziganis or Ziguener, a roving or rather vagabond 
race, are very numerous in the Bukowina, Hungary, Galicia, 
and Transylvania. In the latter province they amount to 
more than sixty thousand ; and out of seventy thousand 
inhabitants who composed the population of the Bukowina, 
when it was ceded to Austria in 1778, more than 10,000 



3 AUSTRIA. 

were Ziganis. Of the origin of these people, whose man- 
ners, habits and way of Ufe, perfectly correspond with 
those of the gipsies, nothing is known with certainty ; but 
the arguments of Grellman seem to render it probable, 
that they are the descendants of the Hindoos expelled from 
India at the time of Tamerlane's invasion in 1408 and 
1409. Of the period of their arrival in Hungary we are 
not informed, but they were known in that country so early 
as 1417, about which time probably they began to intro- 
duce themselves into Transylvania. The Ziganis in general 
manifest more attachment to the Hungarians than to any 
other nation, either because the manners of the latter ap- 
proach nearest to their own, or because they afford them 
more protection. 

The Armenians in the Austrian dominions are descended 
from those who, towards the conclusion of the seventeenth 
century, removed from Asia and settled in Transylvania, 
where there are now upwards of eleven hundred families. 
Most of them dwell in the towns of Armienstadt and Ebes- 
falva, the first of which was named after them. In the 
sequel others of this nation fixed their abode in Hungary, 
where there is not found any considerable community of 
of them excepting at Neusatz, in the country of Bartsch. 
In Galicia also they are so numerous as to have an arch- 
bishop at Lemberg, the capital of that province. 

The same causes which have transferred Armenians 
into Austria have also brought thither Greeks, Macedo- 
nians and Albanians. The people of these different na- 
tions indeed are not numerous, there being scarcely six 
hundred families of them in Transylvania, in which pro- 
vince most of them reside. Naturally industrfous, these 
foreigners have proved very useful to Austria, and the city 
of Cronstadt is indebted to them for the establishment of 
several important manufactures. 

It is in Moravia alone that we find a few of those Wal- 
loon famihes, who serve to remind the spectator of the 
glorious period when the crowns of Austria and Spain 
were united on the same head. 



AUSTRIA. 



CHAPTER III. 



RELIGIONS — ROMAN CATHOLICS GREEK CHURCH AR- 
MENIANS PROTESTANTS SOCINIANS JEWS MAHO- 
METANS. 

All the sects of the christian religion are to be found in 
Austria, and the Jews, Armenians, and Greeks, are more 
or less numerous in the different provinces. Such a diver- 
sity of religious opinions cannot fail to have a consider- 
able influence on the minds and manners of the inhabi- 
tants. 

The Roman Catholic is the religion both of the sove- 
reign and of the state. The great majority of the inhabi- 
tants of Austria profess this religion, which was long the 
only one tolerated in the provinces composing this empire. 
Joseph II. however, sensible of the injustice of proscrib- 
ing persons on account of their religious opinions, issued 
an edict granting toleration to the professors of all creeds. 
Since that time the different Christian sects, the Jews and 
even the Mahometans, have enjoyed liberty of conscience 
in the Austrian dominions. 

The archbishop of ^^ienna is the head of the civil, and 
the archbishop of St. Polten, of the military clergy. The 
latter alone has a right to recommend to the emperor's 
nominatiQn, persons qualified for military ecclesiastical 
appointments, such as the chaplaincies of regiments and 
fortresses. The archbishop and bishops are all mem- 
bers of the metropolitan chapter. On the death of one of 
their number, the chapter has a right to propose a suc- 
cessor for the nomination of the emperor, who approves or 
rejects as he thinks proper, without allowing any sort of 
interference on the part of the pope. Hence several of 
the sees are at present vacant, as the government has 
found in convenient to appropriate the large revenues at- 
tached to many of them to the exigencies of the state. 

It would be difficult to state with accuracy the number 
of Catholics in Austria; but so much is certain, that they 



10 AUSTRIA. 

compose at least two-thirds of the population of the em- 
pire. The Protestants are not numerous, excepting in 
Bohemia on the frontiers of Saxony. 

With the exception of Russia and Turkey, no country 
in Europe contains so many professors of the Greek faith, 
as the dominions of Austria. Some of these are termed 
united, as they acknowledge the pope for their supreme 
head, while otliers have refused to become thus united 
with the Catholics. They are chiefly to be met with in 
Galicia, Hungary, Croatia, an^ Transylvania. 

The Armenian christians have chosen Galicia in prefer- 
ence for their new abode ; but there are some also in 
Hungary and Transylvania. Almost all of them are en- 
gaged in commerce. These people are remarkable for 
their activity and industry, and such of them as do not 
make a profession of the arts or trade, pursue agriculture 
with truly laudable perseverance. Almost all those who 
have settled in Hungary have adopted the latter: and the 
pains they have bestowed on a soil naturally excellent, 
have been rewarded with such abundant crops, that almost 
all of them have acquired in a short time a competence and 
even wealth. 

Since the time of Joseph H. the Protestants, both 
Lutherans and Calvinists, have enjoyed the free exercise 
of their religion in the imperial dominions. The number 
of the former is estimated at about one million and a 
half, and that of the latter two millions and a half. Bohemia, 
Hungary, and Moravia are the countries in which they 
are most numerous. Almost all of them are remarkable 
for their industry. 

There are many other religious sects in Austria. The 
province of Transylvania alone is computed to contain up- 
wards of forty-five thousand Socinians or Unitarians, who 
enjoy the same rights and privileges as the CathoHcs and 
Protestants. Most of these Socinians are Hungarians or 
Szeklers, and their number throughout Hungary is so 
considerable that they have founded one hundred and 
sixty churches. Hungary has also afforded an asylum to 
the Mennonites and Anabaptists, but though they are 
tolerably numerous there, as well as in Transylvania, still 



AUSTRIA. 11 

they form but a small part of the population of those two 
countries. 

The Jews in the Austrian states are. not, as we have 
seen, so numerous as it might be imagined. They 
amount to about three hundred thousand. In order to 
make real citizens of them, the sovereigns conferred on 
them the same prerogatives with the rest of their subjects. 
This wise measure, however, has not excited in them any 
genuine love for their country, or inspired them with the 
least zeal for the welfare of the state. The Jews, as in 
the other countries of Europe, live insulated amidst the 
nation to which they belong; and continue to form a 
a separate people, who never will mingle with any other 
race. Self is their ruling principle, and private interest 
their sole study. Without love to their sovereign, without 
concern for their country, they are indifferent to every 
thing excepting money, which is the god of their idolatry. 
Leading, wherever they are found, a wandering life, they 
consider themselves rather as travellers than as citizens, 
whose fortunes are dependent on the prosperity of their 
native land. 

The Austrian sovereigns, after conferring upon them the 
rights of citizens, deemed it but fair that the Jews should, 
like all the other classes of society, furnish st)ldiers for the 
public defence. This just requisition they resisted, and it 
was necessary to employ force to compel submission to 
this general measure. It wasnot without greatdifficulty that 
fifteen hundred were levied inGalicia: some of them served 
in the ranks, and others in the artillery and wagon-train. 

The active commerce subsisting between Austria and 
Turkey, brings a great number of Turks into the former 
empire. All or nearly all of them are merchants. The 
advantages which they enjoy gradually induce them to 
settle in the country ; but they are- not yet sufficiently 
numerous to have mosques. These Turks therefore are 
content to practise their religion within their own houses; 
and when they do meet, it is not so much to worship God 
as to smoke and chat together. The coffee-houses of the 
Prater, and of Leopoldstadt, at Vienna, are commonly 
full of these foreigners, who carlessly seated on handsome 
divans, surrounded by sherbet and other liquors, and smok- 



12 AUSTRIA. 

ing long cigars, exhibit a picture of oriental manners 
amidst a European population. The stranger is equally 
struck by the splendour of their dress, the fashion of which 
is so different from that of the close garments of Europe. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRIA IN GENERAL. 

The south of Germany would be the most fortunate 
country in Europe, if the government to which it is sub- 
ject had not shown in many circumstances a weakness 
that but ill accords with the wisdom of its views. Tem- 
perate in its climate, fertile from the nature of its soil, 
and happy in its institutions, it remains invariably in a 
monotonous state of well-being, which is prejudicial to 
the activity of the mind alone, not to the happiness of the 
citizens. The inhabitants of this peaceful and fertile 
country have but one wish, that is, to live to-morrow as 
they lived yesterday. This tranquillity which in Austria 
prevades all classes of society is surely preferable to that 
agitation and thirst of wealth which torment almost all 
ranks in other countries. Thus industry, ease and domes- 
tic enjoyments are more highly valued in Austria than 
elsewhere: there every thing is done rather out of duty 
than for fame; and no man looks for the reward of his 
actions in the empty popularity which merely flatters 
pride and vanity, without ever gratifying the heart. 

A nation which has no other motive than a love of its 
duties must be essentially a generous and an upright na- 
tion. What nation displays, on the whole, more integrity 
and generosity than the Austrians? They carry the love 
of their sovereigns to the highest pitch, and that because 
they regard this love as the most sacred of duties. Let 
their rulers be ever so unfortunate, their attachment is but 
the stronger, and the greatest sacrifices seem to cost them 
nothing. 

The Germans in general, and the Austrians in particu- 
lar, possess a sincerity and a probity that are proof against 



AUSTRIA. 23 

every thing. These valuable quahties originate as much 
in the excellence of their institutions as of their hearts. 
Their tranquil and peaceful disposition as well as ttieir do- 
mestic habits, encourage in them a love of order and union 
from which they never deviate. 

In consequence of this love of order the Austrians are re- 
markably neat in their dress, so that you seldom see among 
them, as in other countries, wretches in rags by the side of 
elegance and luxury. There is not an Austrian peasant but 
possesses a decent suit of clothes, boots, and a furred great 
coat for winter. Enter their habitations and you will find 
the same neatness and cleanliness which are conspicuous 
in their habiliments. In these rustic dwellings nothing 
announces affluence, but on the other • hand there is 
nothing to denote poverty and indigence. When the 
lowei: classes of a nation are well dressed, who can doubt 
its wealth and its prosperity? 

The Austrians have been generally considered as cere- 
monious, and as attaching too much importance to the 
formalities of etiquette. Foreigners have been apt to 
ridicule them on this account, without reflecting that this 
adherence to forms and ceremonies is a result of their 
love of order and decorum. It must nevertheless be con- 
fessed that, if etiquette and the forms of politeness are 
more strictly observed in Germany than in other countries, 
this is partly owing to the prerogatives enjoyed there by 
the nobility. Though the line between the classes is much 
more strongly marked than elesewhere, still there is 
nothing offensive in that demarcation. The differences 
of rank are confined to a few court privileges, and the right 
of admittance to certain assemblies, which afford too little 
pleasure to deserve much regret. In fact the grandees of 
Vienna, who are the most magnificent and wealthy in Eu- 
rope, are so far from abusing the advantages they possess, 
that in the streets they suffer the meanest vehicles to stop 
their brilliant equipages. The emperor himself, and his 
brothers, when they go abroad drive quietly along in the 
file of hackney-coaches, and take delight to appear in 
their amusements as private individuals. 

As to the national character, there is but little oppor- 
tunity for its development in Austria, since the different 
B 



14 AUSTRIA. 

nations who inhabit the various provinces of that empire 
do not form a compact whole, and are not all actuated by 
the same spirit. Two great causes, however, might give 
a certain stimulus to the public mind, and also excite pa- 
triotism in Austria ; these are, the love of the country and 
of the sovereign ; and the felicity which all the inhabitants 
enjoy under protecting laws. Husbandmen rather than 
traders, the Austrians are for this very reason more at- 
tached to their native soil. The interests of the country 
are in fact more closely connected with those of the culti- 
vator of the soil, than of the merchant, whose almost 
only object is the success of his speculations, on which 
his precarious existence depends. Agriculture is honoured 
in Austria, and the most illustrious of its princes, as well 
as the sovereign himself, are fully sensible of its import- 
ance to an empire possessing so fertile a soil. 

The Austrian nation is perhaps the most upright and 
the most moral of any in Europe. There is not an Aus- 
trian, with the exception of the higher class of society, 
but feels that morality is the genuine source of domestic 
happiness and the gurrantee of the peace of families. 
The sacred ties of marriage are still respected; and how 
indeed could it well be otherwise in a country where 
woman is devoted to her conjugal duties and finds the re- 
ward of this devotedness in the scrupulous fidelity of him 
who is its object! Conjugal love always leads to mater- 
nal affection ; and the Austrian women are all, or nearly 
all, excellent mothers. They are not more ostentatious in 
their attachment to their children than in their love for 
their husbands : so that the name of her who sacrifice* 
herself for the object of a pure and tender affection re- 
mains for ever unknown to the world. Divorce, which 
introduces a kind of anarchy into families, has never been 
sanctioned by the laws of Austria, and this is not one of 
the least important benefits that it owes to its legislation. 

The fair sex in Austria have in general auburn hair, deli- 
cate complexions and large blue eyes, the united effect of 
which there would be no withstanding, did not their 
modesty and simplicity command respect, and temper by 
the charm of virtue the too powerful impression of their 
beauty. They dehght by their sensibihty, as they intereit 



AUSTRIA. 15 

by their imagination. Without being too much addicted to 
the cultivation of Hterature and the fine arts, they are no 
strangers to the best productions of either ; and when you 
have once gained their confidence you are astonished at 
their knowledge, which they never display but in spite of 
themselves. The Austrian ladies speak with equal fluency 
all the languages of Europe ; and in company they possess 
in general a marked superiority over the men. 

These observations apply particularly to the women of 
the higher classes : as to those of inferior rank, they can 
scarcely be surpassed for goodness of disposition and pu- 
rity of morals. The maternal love of these rustics is too 
strong not to preserve them from those faults which are 
unhappily too common among females of the same condi- 
tion in many other countries. Labour and the exercises 
of religion occupy them entirely, and exempt them from 
those vices which are generated by idleness. They are, 
however, charged, at least those of some districts, with 
being too much addicted to spirituous liquors, and with im- 
pairing by this indulgence their circumstances and their 
health. 

The men are in general tall, well proportioned, and of a 
ruddy complexion : but though few ordinary persons are 
to be found among them, it is rarely that you meet with 
forms distinguished by that higher sort of manly beauty 
which is frequently seen in the south of Europe, and which 
furnished models for the finest statues of antiquity. The 
Germans still answer the description given by Tacitus of 
their ancestors : they are almost all fair and light com- 
plexioned : and their souls do not possess the energy which 
their stature and strength would seem to denote. 



115 AUSTRIA. 



CHAPTER V. 

AUSTRIA, LOWER AND UPPER. 

INHABITANTS OF LOWER AUSTRIA MANNERS OF THE PEO- 
PLE OF VIENNA AMUSEMENTS HOUSES POPULA- 
TION AND MORTALITY— SHOPS PAVED STREETS-^THE 

FIRE-WATCH— COSTUMES OF UPPER AUSTRIA. 

The inhabitants of Lower Austria, in which the capital 
of the empire is situated, are, with the Hungarians, the 
most fortunate of the subjects of the imperial sceptre. 
Cultivating a fertile soil, and not having, like the Styrians 
and the Tyrolese, to struggle incessantly against an in- 
clement climate, they are happy in their geographical 
position ; and they are in general deserving of it by the ex- 
cellence of their disposition. Harbouring none but the 
milder sentiments, they have more gentleness than energy, 
and more good nature than elevation. The Austrians are 
a simple and a hospitable nation ; and the same observa- 
tion applies to their nobles, who never assume the German 
or rather the Austrian pride, unless when they would en- 
force the prerogatives of birth. A stranger has least to 
suffer from this narrow-mindedness, which is becoming the 
less common, the more the education of the higher classes 
is improved, and the more they learn that true nobility ought 
to display itself in exalted sentiments alone. 

It is natural to suppose that there must be a great differ- 
ence between the manners, customs and dress of the in- 
habitants of Lower Austria, according as they reside in 
the country or in cities, or belong to the working classes 
which, in Austria, as in other countries, have manners pe- 
culiar to themselves. 

The manners of the higher classes in Vienna and in the 
other tow'ns of Lower Austria, are in general mild and sim- 
ple; and they are found in harmony with that good-nature 
which is the most distinguishing feature in the Austrian cha- 
racter. Though the nobility are not free from the imputa- 
tion of haughtiness and of attaching too much value to titles 



AUSTRIA. 17 

and honorary distinctions, it cannot be denied that much 
hospitality prevails among them as among the wealthy 
tradesmen. Many of the upper classes keep open tables ; 
and in many houses visitors are permitted at all hours of the 
day and even until midnight, to partake alike of every repast 
that is'served up and of the conversation. 

It is alleged, and not without reason, that the people of 
Yienna are rather too fond of good cheer. This is a 
general propensity of all classes ; so that those whose 
means will not permit them to have delicacies are sure to 
indemnify themselves by the abundance of their viands. 
The lower ranks always mingle with this indulgence a fond- 
ness for other amusements, such as dancing and walking. 
The tradesman of the capital takes great delight on a Sun- 
day in a little country excursion with his family; and as the 
parks of the grandees are open to all comers, these are 
generally the places of rendezvous. He also frequents 
the Prater and the public places of the metropolis; he looks 
and listens with interest to all that passes, provided he is not 
watched ; for instead of wishing, hke a Frenchman, for in- 
stance, to attract attention, he feels uncomfortable as soon 
as he is noticed. His whole happiness centres in himself 
and his numerous family, from which he never likes to be 
parted. This picture of the happiness of the people of Vi» 
enna is the more pleasing since it is not chequered, as in 
most of the great cities of Europe, with the appearance of 
squalid misery. In fact you can there distinguish but two 
classes, the nobles and the citizens ; all below them being 
blended by a certain degree of luxury and ease with the 
latter. 

In winter, companies do not assemble about the stoves 
as round our fire-places. The equable heat diffused by 
these stoves admits of their breaking into groups in the 
different apartments', which thus assume the appearance of 
a coffee-house. Servants in party-coloured liveries hand 
round all sorts of refreshments and sometimes the mistress 
of the house does the honours of it herself with an engag- 
ing attention that charms a stranger. In general, however, 
she takes this duty on herself only when she wishes to 
honour in a particular manner persons of distinction or 
eminent trayellers ; at other times, leaving every visitor te 
B2 



Ig AUSTRIA. 

amuse himself as he pleases. In these societies, you ob- 
serve numbers of ribbons of all colours, and chamberlains* 
keys at all pockets ; these distinctions are so common that 
a person who has none is almost a singularity. What 
renders these companies rather irksome is ihe practice 
which prevails of not calling any one by his name but only 
by his title. Thus you hear the persons about you greeted 
by the appellations of baron, director, inspector, captain, 
duke, or general ; and remain ignorant of their real names 
unless some friend takes the trouble to tell you who they 
are. 

The ladies, on these occasions, are almost always 
ranged in a circle, chatting together or engaged in various 
works of embroidery, frequently to the number of thirty or 
forty. The young men of Vienna never make their ap- 
pearance at these parties : hence their manners have not 
the polish which the habit of keeping good company im- 
parts, nor do they pay those attentions which are due to 
the sex. In these companies you only meet with a few 
young Austrian or foreign princes, who but too frequently 
imagine that their rank exempts them from that delicate 
politeness which virtuous women inspire and can duly 
appreciate. 

It is not to the want of accomplishments in the Austrian 
ladies, that the indifference of the young men in regard to 
them must be attributed, but to the unsociable habits of the 
latter. Their education having been in general neglected, 
riding and hunting occupy all the leisure which they do not 
pass at the coffee-houses, in smoking and play. The rest 
of their time is devoted to the pleasures of the table. With 
such a way of hfe and such habits, how is it possible to 
keep up that tone of decency which it is necessary to main- 
tain in a select company? Nothing seems to them so 
Clifficult and so irksome, and to avoid this unpleasant re- 
straint, they keep away from such societies altogether. 

Being thus left to themselves, the ladies of Vienna can 
do no other than seek the company of the foreigners whom 
they find possessed of amiable manners and information. 
Flattered by their attentions, and tired of the society of 
men, which is generally monotonous enough in Austria, 
the stranger exerts himself still more to please. He feels 
a deeper interest in studying their character ; the better 



AUSTRIA. 19 

he becomes acquainted with it, the more he esteems them; 
and he is astonished that females so gentle, so lovely, and 
so fascinating, should be forsaken by those whom they are 
so well qualified to delight. 

The young men of rank at Vienna, having in general no 
occupation, and as we have seen shunning company, are 
but too apt to yield to the seductions of the gaming-table. 
Numerous instances of the fatal effects of this baneful pas- 
sion might be related ; but circumstances of this nature are 
too common in most other civilized countries to appear 
extraordinary. 

The picture of the manners and amusements of the 
higher classes at Vienna, drawn by Dr. Bright, is inte- 
resting. 

Morning calls, says that traveller, are not considered of 
the same importance in Vienna as in London. When a 
stranger has been properly introduced into a family, he 
usually receives a general invitation, of which he is ex- 
pected to avail himself. Accordingly he calls in the even- 
ing ; and if the lady of the house or any of the family be at 
home, he is admitted, and then, as it happens, meets others, 
or is the only visitor. Easy conversation or cards, music 
and tea, chess or enigmas, fill up the evening ; or if the 
party be numerous, dances and refreshments, the rehearsal 
of poetry, or other exercises of mind or body, enHven the 
visit and dispel the unpleasant restraints of society. 

The evening amusements in Germany are very various, 
and sometimes almost fall under the denomination of pu- 
erile. Not content vnth' requesting young ladies to recite 
verses, they will sometimes invert the natural order of 
things and compel children to act plays, while grown peo- 
ple will play cross-questions and crooked answers ; or 
standing in a circle, and holding a cord in their hands, pass 
a ring from one to the other, while some one of the party 
is required to discover in whose possession it is to be found. 

Acting riddles is a favourite game, and one which is 
well calculated to amuse those who are wisely resolved to 
be amused when they can. A certain portion of the com- 
pany retire into an adjoining room, where they concert to- 
gether how best to represent by action the different syl- 
lables which compose a word, and the meaning of the 



20 AUSTRIA. 

whole word. They presently return, and carrying on their 
preconcerted action, require the company to resolve the 
riddle. Thus, for instance, on one occasion the word de- 
termined upon was Jumeaux. Some of the actors, coming 
from their retirement, began to squeeze a lemon into a 
glass, calling the attention of the company very particu- 
larly to it by their action, thus representing Ju. Others 
came forward imitating the various maladies and mis- 
fortunes of life, thus acting the syllable of meaux. Then 
finally tottered into the circle an Italian duke and a Prus- 
sian general, neither less than six feet in height, dressed 
in sheets and leading-strings, a fine bouncing emblem of 
Jumeaux. 

Dinner-parties, though not the regular every-day amuse- 
ments of life in Vienna, are not uncommon. There is 
much similarity in the style of dinners throughout Ger- 
many, and it has some points of peculiar excellence. The 
table is generally round or oval ; so that each guest has 
means of intercourse with the whole party, even when it 
is large. It is covered for the greater part with a tasteful 
display of sweets or t'ruits ; two places only being left near 
the middle for the substantial dishes. Each person is pro- 
vided with a black bottle of light wine, and every cover, 
even at a table d'hote, is furnished with a napkin and silver 
forks. The first dishes which occupy the vacant spaces 
are always soups ; they are quickly removed to the side- 
tables and distributed by the servants. * In the mean time, 
the next dish is placed upon the table, taken off", carved, 
and carried round to the guests in 'precisely the same man- 
ner ; and so on till every thing has been served. The 
plates are carefully changed, but the knives and forks very 
generally remain throughout the greater part of the dinner, 
or, at best, are only wiped and returned. The dishes are 
so numerous and the variety so great, that, as every body 
cats a little of every thing, they seldom take twice of the 
same. 

The succession of luxuries is not exactly as with us. 
An Englishman is somewhat surprised to see a joint of 
meat followed by a fish, or a savoury dish usurp the place 
of one that was sweet. To conclude the ceremony, each 
servant takes one of the sweetmeat ornaments off the table, 



AUSTRIA. 21 

and carries it, as he has done with the other dishes, to all 
the guests. 

During all this time the conversation is general and 
hvely, and beyond a doubt much more interesting than that 
which is heard on similar occasions and in similar society 
in England, where its current is perpetually interrupted by 
the attention which every one is bound to pay to the wants 
and wishes of persons at the most distant part of the table. 
While the sweetmeats are served, a few glasses of some 
superior kinds of wine, which have likewise been distribu- 
ted at intervals during the dinner, are carried round ; and 
then the company, both ladies and gentlemen, rise at the 
same time by a kind of mutual consent, which, as the 
rooms are seWom carpeted, occasions no inconsiderable 
noise. To this succeeds a general bowing and compliment 
from every one to each of the company individually, each 
hoping that the other has eaten a good dinner. This pe- 
culiar phrase is precisely the counterpart of another always 
employed on the parting of friends about mid-day, each 
expressing a sincere hope that the other will eat a hearty 
dinner. This is the most usual form of civility in Vienna. 

The party then adjourns to another, apartment, where 
coffee is served and where it is frequently joined by other 
visitors, chiefly men, who come without particular invita- 
tion, to pay their respects or to converse on business, in 
the manner of a morning call, and who prolong their stay 
as the movements of the first party indicate : for an invita- 
tion to dinner by no means necessarily imphes that yoa 
are to spend the evening or any part of it at the house or 
that the family has no other engagement as soon as dinner 
is concluded and the guests have taken their coffee and 
liquors. 

As the dinner is early, being always between twelve and 
five, the remainder of the evening is employed in various 
pursuits. A drive in the Prater or to some place of public 
resort, a visit to the theatre, or a succession of the calls 
just described, employ the evening ; or, if the dinner has 
been very early, the party resumes the occupations iand 
business of the day. 

The time and duration of the performances at the the- 
atres are very convenient. They begin about six and con- 



22 AUSTRIA. 

elude a little after nine. The greatest decorum prevails 
during the representation, the police-military, that is police- 
officers, in a particular kind of livery and wearing swords, 
being stationed in ail the avenues. Thus a person going 
with a wish to hear the play is not disappointed by those 
brawls which scarcely ever fail to interrupt the performance 
in our English theatres ; nor is there any part of the house 
to which a party of the most delicate females might not 
resort with the greatest propriety. 

The theatrical performances are continued throughout 
the whole year, with the exception of the days prohibited 
by the Catholic calendar, on many of which, however, con- 
certs, public rehearsals, and a species of exhibition called 
a Tableau are permitted. The latter amusement, being 
scarcely known in this country, requires some notice. 

The object of these exhibitions is, to represent by. 
groups of living figures the compositions of celebrated 
sculptors or painters. With this view that part of the- 
apartment or theatre, beyond which the Tableau is to be 
placed, is darkened, and on raising a curtain, the figures 
are discovered dressed in the costume which the painter 
has given them, and firmly fixed in the attitude prescribed 
by his pencil. The light is skilfully introduced and other 
objects arranged so as to give as nearly as possible the 
effect of the original painting. After some time the curtain 
drops to give the performers time to rest, and to relieve 
themselves from the painful attitudes which they are fre- 
quently obliged to preserve ; and the curtain again drawn 
up discovers them still in their characteristic postures. 
When the spectators are supposed to be satisfied with one 
picture another is introduced, and thus several are exhi- 
bited in succession. This generally forms only part of 
the evening's amusement, and is either accompanied by a 
theatrical performance, or if in private by dancing or music. 

An interesting variety of this entertainment was wit- 
nessed by Dr. Bright. In the midst of a brilliant assembly, 
the folding-doors of another room were suddenly thrown 
open, and what appeared to be a beautiful collection of wax- 
figures was displayed to the delighted eye. They were 
placed on pedestals, in recesses, or in groups around the 
room. They represented heathen deities, or the gnomes 



AUSTRIA. 23 

and fairies with which the poets have peopled the regions 
of imagination, with all their emblematical accompani- 
ments, and their dresses, which were selected with the 
greatest taste. These figures were represented by per- 
sons whom nature had favoured in a distinguished manner; 
they preserved an unmoved firmness of attitude, and no- 
thing interrupted the illusion they intended to create but 
the animation of their eyes, and the smile which some- 
times dimpled the cheek even of the rooted Daphne. To 
assert that this exhibition was beautiful were to degrade 
its charms; it seemed to throw a magic spell over the spec- 
tators, and the great difficulty was to induce them to 
retire when it was actually necessary to relieve the figures 
from the painful position in which they stood. 

The houses of Vienna are in general rather small than 
large ; the palaces of the grandees alone being spacious. 
Most of the houses are of brick or wood covered with slate, 
and some with shingles. As a measure of precaution, how- 
ever, the police forbids the use of the latter ; so that when- 
ever a house is repaired it must be roofed with slate or tiles. 
The houses in the city only are from four to six stories high: 
those of the suburbs occupy more ground but are not so 
lofty. Here the mansions of the great, of very simple 
and sometimes very whimsical architecture, have hand- 
some gardens attached to them. The interior is not so 
commodiously arranged as it might be. The. walls are 
more commonly painted in fresco than papered. The 
furniture is not in general costly, excepting in the palaces 
of princes or the mansions of- bankers or wealthy mer- 
chants, whose opulence enables them to command all the 
elegances as well as the conveniences of life. Simplicity, 
neatness and perfect cleanliness, which are far to be pre- 
ferred to tawdry magnificence, are every where observable. 

Fire-places are almost unknown in the private houses of 
Vienna, and a stranger is surprised not to find any even in 
the kitchens. 

Vienna is composed of two distinct parts, the city pro- 
perly so called and the suburbs, the latter being separated 
from the former by large ditches and high walls. The 
total population is about 225,000 souls. It is at present 
on the increase, in consequence of the important advan- 



24 AUSTRIA. 

tages derived by Austria from the late wars. This city, 
however, is not a healthy residence, notwithstanding the 
high winds which usually prevail there, and vvhich tend to 
promote salubrity. Instances of longevity are much more 
rare in this than in other capitals. In general the mortality 
is as one to fifteen annually, which is nearly three times as 
great as that of the British metropolis. Though this effect 
may be partly owing to the attachment to the pleasures of 
the table for which the people of Vienna are proverbial, 
yet, it must also be in part ascribed to the climate, which 
is extremely variable, frequently changing in the course of 
few hours from the extreme of heat to that of cold, and 
the air, unless ventilated daily by a breeze about two hours 
before noon is said to become pestilential. The spring 
water also is insalubrious, being apt to occasion bowel 
complaints to strangers ; and the water of the Danube is 
so thick and muddy that it cannot be drunk unless filtered. 

The numerous benevolent institutions in Vienna and the 
comforts enjoyed by the lower classes seem to argue that 
this great mortality is owing rather to the climate than to 
any other cause. The humane mind is not here shocked 
by the appearance of that squalid misery which excites as 
much disgust as pity, and the number of mendicants with 
which most other large cities are infested. But if the 
lower classes here are better off than in some othei' coun- 
tries, it is chiefly owing to their superior morality and good 
conduct, which secure them from indigence and want. 

The shops of Vienna are not decorated with that profu- 
sion and luxury which are displayed in those of London 
and Paris. .They are neat and simple; and though they 
may contain a considerable variety of goods, yet frequently 
a square glazed case of patterns hanging at the door is the 
only mark by which the nature of a shopkeeper's dealings is 
estimated. The shops, therefore, contribute but little to 
the embellishment of the streets in which they are situated. 

The streets of the city properly so called are paved 
with a hght gray sienite brought from Hungary and I3ohe- 

"^, or with a very hard species cf jrranite furnished by 
the mountains of Upper Austria. Both these species of 
stone are susceptible of a high polish, and they are wrought 
into a variety of ornamental articles, particularly snuff- 



AUSTRIA. 25 

boxes. The streets of the suburbs, being unpaved, are in 
winter alraost impassable on account of the mud, and not 
the most pleasant in summer, owing to the clouds of dust 
raised by the winds which sweep through them. 

Vienna possesses the advantage of being traversed in 
all directions by subterraneous canals, which run into 
the Danube, and into which all the impurities of the city 
are carried by regular drains and sewers. It is well hghted 
at night, when a horse and foot patrole are employed to 
protect the lives and properties of the citizens, a duty in 
which they are ably seconded by the fire-watch, chiefly 
consisting of invalid soldiers, who are not capable of active 
military service. Armed with long staves, they walk 
through the streets of Vienna, crying the hour, and at 
twelve o' clock adding, put out ijour fires and shut your 
dooi's ! A hat of tin slouched behind and turned up before, 
covers the head, and that the wearer may be known again, 
it is marked with a particular number or letters. In this 
manner it is easy to ascertain any individual who may 
have neglected his duty or exceeded his orders. A loose 
drab coat is also marked by a number. Pantaloons, boots 
or gaiters according to the season, a leathern apron, and 
a leathern bucket, slung behind to be ready in case of fire, 
complete the costume of one of these watchmen. 

The inhabitants of *he villages surrounding Vienna have 
nearly the same manners and costume as those of the 
capital following similar professions. The remark is 
equally applicable to the people of Upper Austria. Among 
the peasantry in both, the men universally wear low broad- 
brimmed hats, as a protection both from rain and sun, and 
a kind of half-boots. The breeches, usually of a dark 
colour, are suspended by coloured braces put on over the 
waistcoat, and a broad belt encircles the waist. A jacket 
of dark-coloured cloth covers all ; a black handkerchief is 
worn round the neck, and the stockings are blue, a colour 
for which these people appear to have a predilection. 

The handkerchief which covers the head and over which 
the hat is put, is a peculiarity in the costume of the women 
of these provinces. 

C 



26 AUSTRIA. 

CHAPTER VI. 

STYRIA. 

COSTUME OF THE INHABITANTS — THE JOANN^UM 
AT GRATZ. 

In Styria the costume of both sexes is singular. The 
head-dress of the women of its capital, Gratz, and the 
neighbouring villages, such as maid-servants and daughters 
of inferior tradesmen or small farmers, generally consists 
of a cap of heavy gold lace, in the shape of a helmet, not 
unlike that worn by women of the same class in Vienna. 
In their forms these caps vary a little, the sides being fre- 
quently very broad, and opening wide backward almost in 
the manner of a butterfly's wings. The gold is often richly 
varied with alternate stripes of embossed silver lace, or 
with embroidered figures: others wear a cap of the same 
form, made of black silk and lace, while others again have 
the black silk richly worked with flowers. 

Most of the female peasants in the surrounding country 
wear broad hats of light coloured felt, nearly resembling 
those of Holland in shape, and like them lined with linen, 
which is brought over to cover half of the upper surface of 
the brim. This lining is generally of some dark colour. 
All wear double handkerchiefs about the neck and shoul- 
ders, and a tight bodice of some gay colour cut low in the 
back, with a triangular false cape running in a point nearly 
to the waist. 

The countrymen likewise wear broad hats encircled by 
a ribbon or a wide gold lace ; a coloured silk handkerchief 
about the neck, and a fancy waistcoat, with ornamented 
braces on the outside, by which the dark-coloured breeches 
are suspended. Their stockings are blue, and they wear 
neat half-boots lacing before in a point. On week-days 
they have jackets, but on holidays wear long frock coats 
of some dark cloth, generally green, and ornamented with 
many large shining buttons. 

We connot quit this province without directing the 



AUSTRIA. 27 

the. attention of the reader to an institution of recent estab- 
hshment, which Dr. Bright pronounces to be the most 
interesting at Gratz ; this is the Joannseum, which takes 
its name from the archduke John, its founder. This 
prince, who has distinguished himself by his love of know- 
ledge perhaps above any prince in Europe, and who is 
truly worthy of the high situation in which his birth has 
placed him, and of the estimable imperial family of which 
he forms a part, had pursued with unceasing assiduity an 
investigation into the resources both natural and political 
of Styria. He had himself surveyed every romantic scene, 
gathered every mountain flower, estimated the capability 
of every rich valley, and drawn his conclusions as to 
what was excellent and what still remained to be im- 
proved ; and wishing to make the stores he had collected 
and the information he had gained of substantial use to the 
country, he determined to present his valuable collections 
and library to the inhabitants of the capital, that they might 
afford the means of instruction to the people, and prove an 
encouragement to further research. The Archduke ac- 
cordingly gave the whole of this treasure, consisting of an 
herbal which contained fourteen thousand specimens, and 
a large store of minerals, an extensive library, philoso- 
phical instruments and manufactured produce to the town 
of Gratz. These were deposited in a large building, for- 
merly a private house, purchased for the purpose, and in 
the course of a year or two lectures on chemistry, botany, 
mineralogy, astronomy and manufactures, were established ; 
a reading room was likewise opened and suppHed with 
above fifty different periodical scientific publications. The 
example of the Archduke soon induced several other per- 
sons to contribute towards completing so desirable an ob- 
ject; and among other liberal contributors, Count von 
Egger presented his library and a valuable cabinet of 
nautral history. 

At this institution lectures are given on mineralogy, 
botany and chemistry, astronomy, mechanics and the 
means of resuscitating persons apparently drowned. This 
last course of lectures has lately been appointed to be held 
in^all the institutions for the higher branches of education in 
the Austrian dominions, and is frequently delivered on 



28 AUSTRIA. 

Sunday. Although the Joannaeum was originally quite 
unconnected with the public education of the country, the 
students of medicine have lately been permitted to avail 
themselves of certificates from the professors, to forward 
their claims to academic honours at Vienna. 



I 



CHAPTER VII. 

BOHEMIA. 
COSTUMES OF THE BOHEMIANS. 

The name of Bohemia is derived from that of the Boji, a 
Celtic nation which inhabited this country at the period to 
which the earliest historical records of it relate. Notwith- 
standing the numerous resources possessed by the inhabi- 
tants in the fertility of the soil, in the mines, the forests 
and the different manufactures established in the course 
of the last century, the country is not very flourishing. 
The peasantry being reduced to the state of serfs, the 
apathy and indolence consequent on servitude, cause Bohe- 
mia to swarm with mendicants and vagabonds. 

Among these are a great number of gipsies, who in some 
parts of Europe are erroneously denominated Bohemians. 

The costumes of Bohemia differ considerably from those 
of Austria, properly so called. The annexed engraving 
represents a young peasant of the environs of Egra. 
These are a handsome race of men, with fine open coun- 
tenances. 

Their dress combines simplicity and elegance. Wide 
trowsers in the Turkish fashion, reaching to the middle of 
the leg, contrast by their dark colour as well as by their 
amplitude, with the short, tight waistcoats. The under- 
waistcoat, or rather a sort of stomacher, which is left un- 
covered by the two open upper waistcoats, is the article of 
their dress in regard to which they are most particular. 

In winter these villagers wear over all a long brown 
cloth surtout. The hat has a broad brim and a low crown, 




'^RA'BAUT o£ E&IRA 
JJ^ WINTER DRESS. 



AUSTRIA. 29 

round which is tied a coloured ribbon. From their earliest 
childhood they are habituated to smoking, and they are 
seldom seen without pipes in their mouths, especially in 
winter. 

The wives and daughters of peasants in general employ 
dark-coloured stuffs only for their apparel. In cold wea- 
ther they wear a cap of fur, or of woollen, round which a 
muslin handkerchief is tied behind. Their stockings are 
of a dark colour ; the shoes are black with red heels : 
the quarters are bordered with a piece of the latter colour, 
which turns down over the instep. 

The principal piece of finery in the dress of these women 
is the girdle, in which they are particularly studious of ele- 
gance and richness. It fastens both before and behind, and 
from the middle hangs a broad band of the same material 
and similarly ornamented, which passes in a semicircle 
sometimes to the right, at others to the left. 

The wedding apparel of the young female peasants of 
this part of Bohemia is remarkable. Every where else a 
wedding is an occasion of rejoicing and gaiety not only to 
the new-married couple, but also to such of their relations 
and friends as are invited. Not so at Egra. There the 
bride would be deemed guilty of an act of unpardonable 
indecorum, if she were to appear in a white dress, or to 
give additional splendour to her apparel by pearls, jewels, 
or laces. Marriage, being considered in this country as 
the most important and solemn act of life, is celebrated 
with the utmost gravity. Every thing, therefore, that 
bears the resemblance of ostentation is avoided : the bride 
is attired in her usual black dress, to which is added a 
a cloak of the same colour, reaching to the knees and not 
unlike that used in the rest of Europe at funerals. She 
holds in one hand a rosary, and in the other a veil which is 
to cover her during the ceremony ; and in the most modest 
and devout attitude she proceeds to the church. 

In summer the inhabitants of these parts go very lightly 
clothed. The men have but one open waistcoat, which 
leaves the bosom exposed; the women wear a corset 
without sleeves, a petticoat, a blue apron and a handker- 
chief of the same colour about the neck. The head is 
covered with a white handkerchief, which is tied behind. 
C2 



30 AUSTRIA. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

MORAVIA. 

COSTUMES OF THE INHABITANTS ACCOUNT OP THE HAU- 

NACKS PEASANTS OF THE FRONTIERS. 

The costume of the inhabitants of Moravia resembles 
more or less that of the people of the contiguous countries. 
In the centre of the province the men generally wear 
jacket, waistcoat, and pantaloons of one colour, hussar 
boots, and a hat, the broad brim of which is cocked behind 
and slouched before. 

The women dress nearly in the style of the Austrian 
peasants, but in winter they wear over the laced corset and 
gown a sort of hussar jacket of cloth bordered with fur, 
while gaiters or boots defend their feet and legs from cold 
and damp. 

Near Olmiitz there is a small tract of country, extend- 
ing about five square German miles, and inhabited by a 
tribe of people called Haunacks, or Haunachians, who are 
supposed by the native statistical writers to be the pure 
descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of Moravia. 
They derive their name from the small river Hauna. Their 
history is rather obscure, but they are undoubtedly a Sla- 
vonic tribe. 

In stature they are short, but strong and muscular ; and 
being simple, temperate, and plain in their habits, they 
attain in general a very advanced age. By the neighbour- 
ing Germans they are reproached as being slothful and 
averse to bodily labour ; while the)' themselves boast of 
the fertility of their soil, and look down with contempt 
upon the other inhabitants of Moravia as an inferior set of 
beings, to whom nature has been more niggardly of her 
gifts. Their mode of living is frugal and highly primitive. 
The flesh of the hog joined with hasty-pudding is their 
favourite viand, and beer their only beverage. 

The young women are remarkable for the grace and ele- 




F]EASA:^T of the MOHJMTAIMS of MOMA-VIAo 



AUSTRIA. 31 

gance of their forms, and the neat adjustment of their 
dresses, which are extremely pictmesque and show off to 
great advantage the considerable share of personal beauty 
with which the wearers are gifted. Their summer dress 
consists of a large white linen cap, the lappets of which, 
bordered with lace and embroidered with red silk, fall over 
their shoulders. Their long hair is suffered to float in 
tresses ; or, when the cap is laid aside, is gracefully 
twisted and tied over the head with knots of ribbons. A 
coloured corset, laced before shows the shape to advan- 
tage. Their well turned ankles are set off with white or 
red stockings, and black shoes with red heels. 

The dress of the men consists of a round hat adorned 
with ribbons of various colours ; a waistcoat commonly 
green, embroidered with red silk, encompassed by a broad 
leathern girdle, with brown pantaloons attached to the vest 
by means of large buckles ; and boots. This is their 
summer costume, but in winter they cover the head with 
a large and singularly shaped fur-cap, and throw over 
their shoulders an undressed sheep or wolf-skin, in the 
absence of which they wear a brown woollen cloak with a 
large hood, like that of a Capuchin Friar. 

On the frontiers of Hungary the costume of the peasant 
of Moravia partakes of the style of dress usual in the 
former country. A broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat 
covers his head ; the short coat, which in shape resembles 
the surcoat of the ancient knights, is girt round the waist 
by a leathern girdle: and he carries his bundle slung behind 
him from a shoulder-belt. He wears tight pantaloons, and 
stockings, round which are twisted the strings that fasten 
his sandals, as represented in the engraving. 



32 AUSTRIA. 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE TYROL. 

MIGRATIONS OF THE TYROLESE THEIR FRANKNESS 

THEIR ATTACHMENT TO THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA ANEC- 
DOTE OF THE ARCHDUCHESS ELIZABETH LITERARY 

TURN OF THE TYROLESE THEIR EXTRAORDINARY HON- 
ESTY FONDNESS FOR PUGILISTIC EXERCISES AND THE 

CHASE ANCIENT PRACTICE MORAL CHARACTER SU- 
PERSTITION MECHANICAL GENIUS PERSONS AND COS- 
TUMES NATIONAL SONGS CUSTOM OF VISITING THE 

GRAVES OP RELATIONS MARRIAGE CEREMONIES OF THE 

TYROLESE. 

The most striking feature in the character of the Tyro- 
lese is their love of independence and their attachment 
to their native land. The intense cold, however, that pre- 
vails in the elevated valleys, in general compels their in- 
habitants to quit them in winter, when they repair to the 
neighbouring towns to pursue their different professions. 
Thus villages, nay even whole valleys are at times nearly de- 
serted, except by the aged men, the women and the children. 
At stated periods, therefore, these mountaineers emigrate 
in bodies of thirty or forty, and spread themselves ovev 
Italy, Bavaria, and Austria. Some of them become ex- 
cellent carpenters, others skilful smiths, and it is seldou 
that they do not follow more than one trade. They arc 
particularly addicted to the mechanical arts. The young 
lads hire themselves to tend cattle. On the return -oi 
summer and the approach of harvest-time, these moun- 
taineers set out for their respective hamlets, joyfully carry 
ing with them their little savings. They collect ii> 
companies and march to the sound of the bagpipe, which 
at a distance announces their coming. All run out to mee 
them, and they rarely pass through a village without being 
supplied with refreshments. In this manner they travel 
forward till they reach their humble homes, where they 



AUSTRIA. 33 

forget their hardships and fatigues in the affectionate em- 
braces of their wives, children and relations. 

The industry of the Tyrolese does not suffer them to be 
content with these migrations occasioned by the incle- 
mency of the climate. They travel all over Germany 
with aromatic and medicinal plants, carpets, gloves, cha- 
mois-skins, steel trinkets, or wooden wares carved with 
the utmost dehcacy. These commodities they carry 
chiefly to Yienna, being encouraged by the favourable re- 
ception given to them by the inhabitants, who are dehghted 
with their frankness and good humour. The Tyrolese 
always speak what they think without reserve or disguise. 
Like our Quakers they address every one, not excepting 
the emperor himself, in the second person singular ; and 
they question the sovereign without the least ceremony re- 
specting his intentions in regard to their country. When 
these plans do not harmonize with their ideas, they cen- 
sure them with the utmost freedom. There have been in- 
stances of their carrying their complaints to the foot of the 
throne, and remonstrating with a Uberty which to courtiers 
must appear very extraordinary. 

To the honour of the sovereigns of the house of Austria, 
it must be confessed that any of their subjects may obtain 
a private audience of them with less difficulty than in other 
states an interview can be gained with a minister. If I 
were to select, says a British traveller, from among the 
eulogies which have been passed on monarchs, the most 
glowing traits, assisted by the warmest efforts of imagina- 
tion, I might not, perhaps make a deeper impression upon 
the mind of 'the reader, than by the simple recital of the fact, 
that it is the habit of the Austrian ruler to admit into his 
presence and to personal interview every individual of his 
realm. One day in every week is devoted to this sacred 
duty ; when the emperor, with the first dawning of the 
morning, attends in a private apartment to receive petitions 
and complaints from the mouths of even the poorest of his 
subjects. He listens to them freely, and though he 
seldom judges finally at the moment, shows his sympathy 
and declares his feeling in their behalf. 

The known frankness and intrepidity of the Tyrolese in- 
duced Austria to grant them great liberty. Never, indeed, 



34 AUSTRIA. 

was government more paternal than that of Austria in re- 
gard to the Tyrol. Hence all the inhabitants went into 
mourning when the fortune of war transferred them a few 
years since to another power, which, by its ill-judged 
measures, only strengthened their attachment to their 
former sovereign. The struggle which they made in his 
behalf against the united force of France and Bavaria 
shows what exertions a nation fighting for independence is 
capable of making, and will occupy a conspicuous place 
in the history of those wars which have lately distracted 
Europe. The general peace which put an end to these 
hostilities, crowned the wishes of the faithful Tyrolese, 
and replaced them under the Austrian sceptre. 

As the most trivial circumstances frequently impart a 
clearer insight into the character of an individual or a nation 
than those of more importance, the following authentic 
anecdote may be worth recording. The archduchess 
Elizabeth, aunt to the present emperor of Austria, who 
was so much beloved that the people of Vienna always 
called her JJnsere Liese, (Our Bess) took a particular fancy 
to milk with her own hands the beautiful cows which she 
had collected at Schonbrunn. She had heard the Tyrolese 
highly extolled for their skill and cleverness in this opera- 
tion, and therefore had several herdsmen brought from the 
Tyrol, that they might instruct her in the milking and 
general management of cattle. The first who arrived, 
seeing the princess engaged in milking her cows, gazed at 
her in silence for a few moments, and then burst out into 
the exclamation: " Get thee gone, thou awkward baggage! 
why, thou wouldst not earn salt to thy porridge !" After 
he had thus politely driven away the princess, he fell to 
work and milked the whole herd in less time than the arch- 
duchess would have done. a single cow. During the 
course of this extraordinary instruction, these men never 
could be persuaded to soften their language or to use less 
frankness in their expressions. So far, however, from dis- 
pleasing by their freedom, they had some difficuly to obtain 
permission to return to their native mountains. 

The Tyrolese who travel into Germany, to carry on a 
little traffic in drugs and peltry, have in general several 
partners. At any rate the husband never goes without his 



AUSTRIA. 35 

wife, nor the brother without his sister. It is very rarely 
that a man is seen by himself disposing of his commodities. 
They have not failed to observe that the costume of their 
women excites the curiosity of strangers, and they judi- 
ciously avail themselves of it that they may find a better 
market for their merchandise. When they settle at Vienna, 
almost all of them adopt the trades of carpenter or mason. 

A singular fact, and which serves to show the natural 
bent of this nation, is, that there is scarcely a Tyrolese 
peasant but has his library, however small. Though it 
contains perhaps no more than thirty or forty volumes, still 
it affords proof of a fondness for study. The Bible, the 
Lives of the Saints, a history of their country, or of Austria, 
together with a few geographical works, compose the gene- 
rality of these rustic libraries. So strong is their hanker- 
ing for news, that many of those in easy circumstances take 
in the Inspruck newspaper ; which, in the long winter- 
evenings, furnishes them with subjects for discussion and 
comments, in which their own country is not forgotten. 

Theft and robbery are so uncommon in Tyrol, that locks 
are almost unknown, at least in the villages. The doors 
of their habitations have no other guard than the mutual 
integrity of the inmates. The peasants therefore have 
merely a latch, which is raised by means of a bit of 
packthread, and this method of closing the entrance to 
their cottages is adopted solely to keep the cattle out of 
them. A hundred times, says a traveller, have I stopped 
at inns where there was no key whatever, and yet I never 
lost any thing. At Vienna, and in other parts of Germany 
also, the Tyrolese bear the highest character for honesty 
and integrity, and there is no instance of any of them hav- 
ing abused the confidence reposed in him. 

Such is their respect for the memory of deceased re- 
latives and friends, that they scarcely ever go out of 
mourning for them. A person who should violate this 
custom would be considered as degenerate. It is not un- 
common to see a widow wear mourning all her life for her 
husband, or a daughter for a mother. If this practice 
attests the excellence of their hearts, the mourning as- 
sumed by them on account of the misfortunes which befall 
their country equally proves the ardour of their patriotism. 



36 AUSTRIA. 

When I visited the Tyrol, says a French traveller, after 
the war in 1809, I asked a peasant why the people were 
all in mourning. " Look at our towns," repUed he, " you 
see that they are in ashes ; and can you still ask why we 
are in mourning?' A nation endowed with such qualities, 
cannot fail to be deeply interesting to every enlightened 
mind and to every generous heart. 

The Tyrolese peasants are mostly robust, and attach 
more value to rigour of body than to beauty of form. From 
their infancy they addict themselves to exercises best cal- 
culated to increase the strength and suppleness of their 
limbs. Some, after the example of the ancient Greeks, 
are professed wrestlers, and pursue the exercise with such 
ardour, that if they were to neglect it for some time their 
health would suffer. Hence they seldom pass a week 
without challenging other champions, and they will go 
many miles either to be actors in, or witnesses of such 
matches. 

Pugilistic exercises have in consequence become an 
amusement inseparable from rustic weddings, fairs and 
parish festivals. They were formerly frequent in the 
vicinity of Inspruck, the capital of the country ; but the 
police took advantage of the quarrels which they occa- 
sioned, to apprehend the combatants and force them to enlist 
in the army for life : so that it is only in the remote districts 
that they can indulge without fear in their favourite 
diversion. 

The dress of the Tyrolese wrestlers is nearly the same 
as that of the other villagers, excepting that they never 
wear either collar or cravat, to deprive their adversaries of 
the advantage of seizing them by that part of the dress. 
The rest of their clothes, indeed, affords abundant scope 
for laying hold, as they have not yet adopted the practice 
of oiling their bodies like the combatants of Greece at the 
Olympic games. 

These men have an extremely shrill war-cry, and are 
known by the cock's feathers in their hats, the number of 
which always corresponds with that of the victories they 
have won. In regard to this point they could not easily 
practise deception ; for the man who should set up a claim 
in contradiction to public notoriety, would become an object 
of derision, and pay dearly for his usurped finery. 




TirmOJLESE HUITTE] 



AUSTRIA. 37 

We are not exactly informed of the use of the thick 
pewter ring which they wear on the little finger of the 
right hand, and which they call the ring of combat. It is 
not considered fair for these wrestlers to grasp their ad- 
versary with their hands ; they strive to make him lose his 
balance, to throw him down, and then snatch from him the 
feathers which he has won in preceding contests. In the 
intervals of rest they are furnished with a pipe, which they 
regard as an infallible medium for recruiting their strength. 

The chase is another amusement to which the Tyrolese 
are passionately attached, and which they pursue from 
their earliest infancy. Each village has a spot set apart 
for firing at a mark ; and here boys begin to practise as 
soon as they can hold a gun. 

The hunting of the chamois, which is indisputably the 
most arduous and difficult species of sport, since that 
animal frequents only the highest mountains, is what the 
Tyrolese takes most delight in. Lightly clad, having a 
large green hat to screen him from the sun, his gun slung 
at his back or in his hand, and equipped in the manner re- 
presented in the opposite plate, he traverses the deepest 
valleys and climbs the most rugged mountains. Here he 
frequently passes several successive days. A stick, ter- 
minating with an iron spike, is indispensably necessary 
for supporting him on the steep acclivities of the mountains. 
His game-bag, covered with velvet, serves him for a pillow 
at night ; it contains some provision, a small speaking- 
trumpet, and a couple of cramp-irons to assist him in 
climbing perpendicular rocks. Some of these men have 
been known to cut their feet on purpose that the blood 
from the wounds might cover the smooth surface of the 
rocks and prevent their slipping. 

A very interesting custom formerly existed in the Tyrol. 
The wealthiest of the peasants advanced to such young 
men as appeared to be most industrious, active, and intel- 
ligent, a sum of money, to be laid out in the productions of 
the country, and which were to be sold or exchanged for 
foreign commodities. Sometimes the fulfilment of these 
commissions required a voyage beyond sea. The agent, 
having procured his goods, set out furnished with every 

D 



38 AUSTRIA. 

thing calculated to ensure the success of the enterprise. 
Having disposed of his merchandise, he returned home, 
called together his employers, and delivered to them the 
proceeds of the goods with which he had been entrusted. 
Each took up the sum he had contributed, and the over- 
plus belonged to the young factor. This practice, now 
unfortunately fallen into disuse, affords a strong proof of 
the integrity of these honest mountaineers. 

The Tyrolese has in general all the art of a man expe- 
rienced in the ways of the world, with the simplicity of a 
child, and in consequence, perhaps, of the injuries done to 
him by foreign nations, he is become more mistrustful. 
Still he will never commit a base action out of resentment : 
his soul is too proud and too elevated to employ such dis- 
graceful means. If he attacks, it is always openly. Cou- 
rageous and persevering, he spares no exertion to attain 
his aim. Great in adversity, he is not cast down by it ; 
prosperity always finds him proof against its dangerous 
illusions : his country and her independence are all that 
He prizes. He cannot regret wealth, for he possesses it 
not : he is a stranger to pleasures, excepting those that 
arise from the relation of liusband and father : hardships 
do not affect his robust frame, accustomed to all sorts of 
privations, and inured to the inclemency of winter. Thus 
from his earliest youth he climbs the glaciers barefoot, and 
that he may be the more unrestrained in his motions, he 
never covers his knees with any garment. Finally, the 
first sports of his childhood consist in gliding from the 
tops of the mountains in light sledges : an amusement 
which, were he less expert, would expose his life a thou- 
sand times to the most imminent danger. 

These people, so kind and so hospitable to the unarmed 
stranger, or to him who needs their protection, are most 
formidable to the invader of their country, or the violator 
of their ancient institutions. Bold and skilful marksmen, 
accustomed to the use of arms and to the chase, they soon 
become excellent soldiers, whose address is equal to their 
courage. It must be confessed, however, that as regular 
troops, the Tyrolese display greater bravery on the moun- 
tains than in the plains, where they imagine that they have 
not the same advantages. 



AUSTRIA. 39 

Faithful husbands and tender fathers, the Tyrolese 
have in general a warm affection for their families : and 
lawsuits, or quarrels respecting property, seldom disturb 
the harmony that prevails among them. The simplicity 
of their manners is as remarkable as that of their cha- 
racter, and a spirit of rehgion contributes not a Httle to 
keep it up. Their devotion may sometimes go to the 
length of superstition, but never to that of fanaticism. 
Besides, it cannot prove dangerous, since it is confined to 
the belief in the existence of spirits and malignant genii. 
This belief is chiefly current among the peasantry of the 
elevated districts ; hence the village girls dare scarcely go 
abroad after dark for fear of falling into snares laid for 
them by mischievous spirits. There is no sound, even to 
the rustling of the leaves of the trees, shaken by the even- 
ing breeze, but proclaims to their exalted imaginations the 
presence of ghosts. Thus their superstitious notions ani- 
mate all nature. To protect themselves from the power 
of these imaginary beings, many Tyrolese of both sexes 
engrave the figure of Christ, or of some saint upon their 
flesh, by pricking it with a needle and rubbing gunpowder 
into the punctures ; and this they consider as a permanent 
safeguard. Some, however, who are more enlightened or 
less credulous, adopt these figures merely by way of orna- 
ment, a practice similar to the tattowing common among 
most of the South Sea islanders. 

The active and lively disposition of the Tyrolese urges 
them to imitate whatever they see. It may almost be said 
that they become mechanics by intuition ; at any rate, 
no sooner do they experience the want of any instrument, 
than they set about making it, and though, perhaps, rude 
and clumsy, it always answers the purpose for which it 
was designed. Thus at their summer habitations on the 
mountains, however elevated their situation, you find small 
hydraulic machines, which work the stones required by 
the herdsmen to sharpen their implements, or to grind the 
corn necessary for their subsistence. Sometimes they 
connect a moving wheel with the piston used in churning. 
In another place you see a cradle rocked with a motion 
the more gentle as it is produced by a fall of water mode- 



40 AUSTRIA. 

rated with art. In short, a stranger who visits their 
country, perceives, at every step, the extraordinary turn 
of these people for the mechanical arts. 

In addition to the instances of ingenuity mentioned 
above, it is not uncommon to find in the valleys of the 
Tyrol, painters, makers of musical instruments, and other 
machinery, who, without any instruction whatever, have 
produced truly astonishing things. There are peasants 
who, in the long winter evenings, have constructed piano- 
fortes, rather complicated instruments, and that merely 
from the notion acquired by a short examination of one. 
Neither should it be forgotten that the first good map of 
the country, which it is so difficult to survey, was produced 
by a native of the mountains of Tyrol, Peter Anich, a 
herdsman. 

Considered merely with reference to their persons, the 
Tyrolese are remarkable people. An expressive and ani- 
mated countenance, bright piercing eyes, and a tall robust 
figure, are the principal characteristics by which they are 
distinguished. Their step is rather heavy, owing to their 
habit of continually ascending mountains. Hard labour 
imparts strength and vigour to their limbs. Their hair, 
almost always of a light colour, falls in graceful locks 
over their shoulders. A certain air of dignity, which ad- 
mirably becomes their masculine features, and their ele- 
gant costume, heighten the expression of their faces, and 
set off the beauty of their forms. The hat, commonly of 
straw, bordered with ribbons of different colours, and 
adorned in a picturesque manner with feathers, is worn 
covered with fine green silk by the single men, but gene- 
rally black by such as are married. A short waistcoat and 
jacket fit tight upon the body. Broad braces, ornamented 
with figured work and crossing over the bosom, support, 
what in this case may justly be denominated small-clothes, 
since they seldom reach lower than the middle of the 
thigh. Stockings, either plaited or embroidered with silk 
of different colours, show off a handsome leg ; and the 
shoes, equally light and elegant, are adorned with ribbons 
always of a different colour from themselves. Gold or 
silver buckles are sometimes worn in them. 



AUSTRIA. 41 

Rarely unarmed, they are scarcely ever seen without a 
gun slung at their shoulder and a goat-skin knapsack. At 
once a military and an agricultural people, the Tyrolese 
are always ready to relinquish the plough and the herds- 
man's staff for the musket. To give a more masculine 
character to the countenance, they shade the lips with long 
and thick mustaches ; and in some districts let part of the 
beard grow, which gives a degree of fierceness and wild- 
ness to their look. 

The females are rather fair than handsome : their per- 
sons are more remarkable for strength than elegance. In 
general of a serious disposition, their countenance, nay, 
their very smile, have a degree of gravity, so that the im- 
pression which they produce at first sight is by no means 
prepossessing. Their costume has frequently an elegance 
and a lightness that are extremely becoming. Green or 
black hats bordered with ribbons of different colours, and a 
velvet cap, compose their winter head-dress. In summer 
they let their long light tresses flow over their shoulders, 
or turn them up and fasten them at the back of the head 
with long pins. A corset laced before covers the bosom, 
and on this part of their dress they bestow particular pains, 
some decorating it with lace, and others working upon it a 
variety of designs in silk of different colours. Short petti- 
coats, seldom reaching to the middle of the leg, are re- 
markable in general for their lively colours and their 
numerous plaits, which, however, are so disposed as not 
to hide the contours of the body. Stockings of a light 
colour, set off by embroidered clocks, have an elegant and 
graceful appearance. 

In some of the mountainous distrists, the women, in or- 
der to be the less encumbered in their laborious occupa- 
tions, have adopted the use of drawers with such scanty 
petticoats as to fall considerably short of the knee. Out 
of mere singularity, they load their legs with stockings, so 
plaited, as to give them a clumsy appearance. These 
stockings, being too thick to be covered by shoes, have no 
feet, so that the ancles are left quite bare. This practice 
occasions swelling of the legs or pains in the feet ; but 
D2 



42 AUSTRIA. 

nothing can induce them to rehnqnish it, such is the influ- 
ence of habit among all the nations of the earth. 

The colour of the dress of the Tyrolese is different in 
every valley. The women in the environs of Hall and In- 
spruck, in general wear gowns half black and half blue, 
which produce a singular effect. The head is covered 
with a very lofty pyramidal cap, commonly of quilted cot- 
ton, decorated with transverse stripes. In summer they ex- 
change this awkward head-dress for an elegant hat, and 
leave the hair loose. 

The young girls have a remarkably simple costume. A 
ribbon tied round the top of the head constitutes the only 
head-dress. The throat and upper part of the neck are 
uncovered ; but a handkerchief of rose-coloured crape is 
fastened together over the bosom. A broad ribbon passing 
round the waist is tied behind. A white corset with 
sleeves, a short green petticoat, and scarlet worsted stock- 
ings complete the dress of these peasants. 

The women of this part of the Tyrol have such a predi- 
lection for red and blue stockings, that they seldom wear 
them of any other colour. When these stockings are not 
plaited, they load them with embroidery and all sorts of 
whimsical figures. With the women, the stockings, cor- 
set and girdle, are the articles in which finery is particu- 
larly studied, as the hat, the waistcoat, and the braces are 
with the men. 

The manners of the women of the Tyrol are gentle and 
sedate. Equally chaste wives and tender mothers, they 
devote themselves entirely to their household affairs and 
to the care of their children. Constant in their sentiments, 
the man whom they once love is the object of their ever- 
lasting affection. Kind to all around them, they are not 
shy at the appearance of a stranger. On the contrary, 
when he approaches their habitation the mother sends her 
daughters to meet the traveller, and with engaging modesty 
they offer him fruit and present him with flowers. When 
once introduced into the cottage, the whole family throngs 
around him ; the most delicious milk assuages his thirst, 
while a dish of smoked meat is prepared to appease the 
hunger excited by the keen air of the mountains. 



AUSTRIA. 43 

Naturally quick and hasty, the Tyrolese prosecutes with 
heart and soul whatever he takes in hand. His dances 
alone, by their irregularity and vivacity, sufficiently attest 
the vehemence of his character. The music which excites 
him to pleasure is so brisk, that he can scarcely follow the 
measure. In short, these people cannot do any thing in a 
cool and quiet manner : if they fight, it is with an ardour 
which never allows them to calculate the danger ; and 
when they indulge in pleasure, they give themselves up to 
it entirely. Is the country in danger? mourning is in 
every heart, and arms are in every hand : their very ap- 
parel acquaints the stranger with their feelings and their 
thoughts. 

The national songs of the Tyrolese likewise prove the 
violence of their passions. Always lively and gay, they 
frequently pass from low natural tones to the highest 
sharps. From the expressions of these songs, you may 
know that they belong to men wandering in vast sohtudes, 
and whose strains, crossing deep valleys, excite the voices 
of the herdsmen on the opposite hills. It is to this wildnesa 
and irregularity that the national airs of the Tyrol owe the 
celebrity which they have acquired. What traveller, who 
has ever witnessed the sensations they produce, could 
hear them without emotion ! 

The same man whom we have seen pursuing with such 
ardour, the innocent pleasure of a rustic dance, listens to 
the truths of religion with such profound respect, that in the 
attitude of devotion you would not know him again, or be 
tempted to believe that he is animated alternately by two 
different spirits. But that you may be able to appreciate 
his sensibility, follow him when at the dechne of day, he 
leads his family from his humble abode to the tombs of 
his forefathers. Bareheaded, with downcast eyes and the 
chaplet in his hand, he walks first as the monarch of the 
family. Sometimes, indeed, he leads by the hand the 
yougest of his boys, while the elder follow. After them 
appears the mother, covered with a veil and surrounded by 
her daughters, who learn from her that modesty is woman's 
brightest ornament. On reaching the grave of the person 
whose loss they deplore, they all kneel down and pray for 



44 AUSTRIA. 

that eternal repose in behalf of the soul of their friend, 
which will one day be solicited for themselves. After a 
few short prayers, the eldest of the boys rises, and thrice 
sprinkles holy water on the grave ; all then strew over it 
flowers mingled with their tears. A practice so general, 
and which is repeated every day, cannot but have a strong 
tendency to preserve the prevailing simplicity and purity 
of manners. 

The marriage ceremonies of the Tyrolese are not less 
interesting. It is seldom that young people marry from 
motives of interest, or inconsequence of previous arrange- 
ments between the parents. It is in their walks, or at their 
rural meetings, that they become acquainted. When mu- 
tually agreeable, they respectively promise faith and love, 
and give each other their hand in ratification of this first 
contract. This promise made in the utmost purity of heart 
satisfies the lovers. Never is the chaste damsel of the 
Tyrol known to repent the acknowledgment of her secret 
sentiments to him to whom she has avowed them, nor the 
latter to take an improper advantage of this confession. 

When once engaged by mutual vows, the young people 
have nothing more to do than to acquaint their parents 
with the object of their choice. It is seldom that the 
latter throw any impediment in the way of the happiness 
of their children. The circumstances which too frequently 
oppose the union of families in our polished societies can- 
not exist among people who are content with the posses- 
sion of a few head of cattle and a few acres of land, for 
which, moreover, they have to dispute with the snow on 
the mountains. • 

The lover, hurried away by his passion and hi^ natural 
impetuosity, warmly extols the qualities of his mistress, 
and spares no pains to obtain from his parents an approval 
of the sentiments by which he is animated. The old folks, 
naturally more cool, seldom decide at once : but to satisfy 
themselves of the sincerity of their son's attachment, they 
put it to the test in various ways. These trials differ with 
the age and character both of the son and of the father. 
Some send their sons into Switzerland, Bavaria, or Italy, 
with various productions of the country which they are to 



AUSTRIA. 43 

dispose of there, and to interest them in the success of 
the enterprise they give up to them all the profit. " Go," 
say their parents, " earn thy wife. To be a good father, 
a man must be able to get bread for his children." 

Not less dutiful as a son than ardent as a lover, the 
young Tyrolese never opposes the commands of his pa- 
rents. How painful soever it be to him to leave his 
mistress and his beloved mountains, he departs, but not 
till he has presented the idol of his heart with a pledge of 
his fidelity in the ribbons that adorned his hat. He, more- 
over, places in her bosom the flower which renews the 
memory of love, and which for that reason is named forget- 
me-not. The damsel gives him in return the girdle which 
encircles her waist, and in which she has secretly em- 
broidered the initials of the name of the favoured youth. 
The most amorous swains do not quit the hamlet till they 
have played upon the rustic bagpipe some plaintive ditty, 
to which their mistress listens surrounded by her female 
companions, who are ever ready to share her sorrows. 

Other fathers subject their sons to trials of shorter dura- 
tion, sending them for a few months to the herdsmen's huts 
on the high mountains. Here the youths tend the herds 
and flocks, and strive as much as possible to increase the 
produce from them by their management. They also 
gather bilberries and the leaves of the spike {Valeriana cel- 
tica) which has such a delightful smell. These occupa- 
tions render them robust, and habituate them to fatigue. 
The spike grows only on the tops of the second-rate moun- 
tains and on the steep sides of those which are crowned 
with snow. This aromatic plant is exported to the East, 
where its perfume is destined to delight the voluptuous in- 
mates of the seraglio. The roots of the gentians also are 
collected on the mountains, and from these they extract 
the juice, which yields a spirit that is highly esteemed. 

The wealthier Tyrolese have recourse to other means 
to assure themselves of the sincerity of the attachment of 
their sons. They take them out into companies where 
they are likely to meet young females worthy of their 
notice ; but if the sight of fresh objects produces no change 
in their sentiments, the parents no longer withhold their 
consent. 



46 AUSTRIA. 

The day on which the damsel's hand is formally solicited, 
is a festival not only for the two families but for the whole 
hamlet. The Tyrolese in general regard each other as 
brothers. The father of the young man arrays himself in 
his best apparel. Laying aside the jacket suitable for 
working days only, he puts on a coat decorated with ribbons 
of various colours. By his dress and the pleasure that 
sparkles in his eyes, it is evident that he is going on a 
joyful errand. He takes with him his younger sons, who 
carry baskets in which his first presents are deposited. In 
one he places honeycombs, the fragrance of which is 
heightened by the sweet-smelling thyme and other aro- 
matic Alpine plants, with which they are surrounded ; and 
puts into another the finest fruits of the season, not for- 
getting some cakes made by a beloved daughter. 

On reaching the damsel's abode, the father is introduced 
by the uncle or the nearest relative. Here he finds the 
family of his future daughter-in-law assembled. All present 
rise and salute him. *' Welcome, my friend !" says the 
head of the family to him. " What motive brings thee 
among us?" — "As thou art a father," repUes the visitor, 
"let me put a question to thy daughter." — With these 
words he steps up to her, kisses her on the forehead, and 
thus addresses her : *' God bless thee, lovely girl, who re- 
mindest me of the days of my youth. I have a son ; he 
loves thee. Wilt thou make my declining years happy 1" 

The Tyrolese girls, equally modest and affectionate, 
can, it is said, rarely find words to answer this flattering 
question, so that their mothers are almost always obliged 
to be the interpreters of their sentiments. The lover is 
then introduced by a young companion : he enters, bring- 
ing the fruits of his industry and constancy, which he de- 
posits at the feet of his new mother, whose affection he 
solicits. The kiss of peace assures him of the kindness of 
the parents by whom he is adopted, and the first salute 
granted by his mistress bespeaks the ardour of her love. 

The young companions of the bride likewise receive a 
kiss from the bridegroom and wishes for their future hap- 
piness. The most intimate of her friends then conducts 



AUSTRIA. 47 

the bridegroom to his destined spouse and retires ; on 
which the spokesman of the family rises and begins a long 
harangue on the good qualities of the young man. Though 
rarely listened to by the young folks, who have much to 
say to one another, he nevertheless relates with emphasis 
the various trials to which the bridegroom has been sub- 
jected, and concludes with congratulating the damsel on 
having inspired him with a passion so strong as to sur- 
mount them all. 

The young females then sing stanzas suitable to the oc- 
casion, after which the company partake of a frugal repast 
consisting of bread, cheese, fresh butter, and goats' or 
ewes' miik, together with a few glasses of Meran or Brixen 
wine, or among the more opulent, of Hungarian wine. 
This repast being finished, the youths escort the bride- 
groom h.ome with songs and the sound of the rustic flute. 
At dwsk, the bridegroom serenades his beloved with a 
plaintive tune under her window, mingling the sounds of 
his voice with those of the bagpipe. 

The wedding-day at length arrives, and gaiety pervades 
the hamlet. From the general rejoicing, a stranger would 
suppose all the inhabitants to belong to the same family. 
When the bride lives at a village remote from the resi- 
dence of the bridegroom, the latter repairs thither, accom- 
panied by a numerous party, demonstrating the harmony 
and brotherly love which prevail among the Tyrolese. 
To beguile the length of the way, the young lads stop now 
and then and join in the merry dance. On reaching the 
place of their destination, they repair to the abode of the 
bride, and while they enter, the musicians play the nuptial 
air. The music ceases, and the schoolmaster addresses 
a complimentary speech to the bride, who then delivers to 
the bridegroom the ribbons for his garters in token of his 
future authority. These ribbons the bridemaid attaches to 
his dress ; he gives her a kiss, and, according to custom, 
she embraces him in return. 

The procession then repairs to the church, headed by 
the musicians ; next come the young men, and then the 
young women, who are followed by the bride and bride- 
groom. The former is dressed in white, with a nosegay 



48 AUSTRIA. 

of flowers selected by her lover in her bosom. She is 
placed on his right, and is attended by her bridemaid, as is 
the bridegroom by his man. Then come the parents and 
relations of the parties, whose serious looks and grave de- 
meanour form a striking contrast with the wild mirth and 
frolicksome pranks of those who close the procession. 

On reaching the church, a devout silence is observed by 
the whole assembly. The service begins, but before the 
priest pronounces the nuptial benediction, the young 
couple, falling on their knees before their parents, receive 
their blessing. On their return home, they arc congratu- 
lated by their friends, who then partake of an entertain- 
ment provided for the occasion. When this is over, the 
head of the family rises, and after he has said grace, he 
offers up a prayer for the prosperity of the new-married 
couple ; to give a still more solemn character to this pious 
ceremony, he pictures in glowing colours the virtues of 
their forefathers. Nor does he forget to pray for the 
parents whom death has snatched from them. The 
speaker resumes his seat, and when the tears of affection 
have ceased to flow, the cheerful songs of the young 
people awaken other emotions. 

Impatient for the pleasures of the dance, the latter slip 
away by degrees to tlie meadow or the room prepared for 
dancing. How desirous soever the young couple may be 
to follow, they must not stir, till the father of the family 
taking hold of the bride and the mother of the bridegroom, 
conduct them to their companions. Here, seated side by 
side, they receive the congratulations of the young men, 
among whom the bride distributes flowers from a basket. 
By these flowers they prognosticate their future fortunes. 
If the honeysuckle or the Alpine lily falls to their share, 
they promise themselves extraordinary prosperity. The 
periwinkle and the rhododendrons betoken a happy, tran- 
quil life ; but the foxglove and the daphne are omens of 
misfortunes and afflictions. The young damsels then 
come to express their good wishes, and the bridegroom 
distributes among them ribbons, the different colours of 
which are in like manner supposed to indicate their future 
lot. 



AUSTRIA. 49 

Next morning they do not fail to pay a visit to the young 
couple, because they attach great importance to the pos- 
session of a few flowers from the wreath that encircled the 
brow of the bride. To her greatest favourites she gives 
the pins which fastened the wreath, and these they regard 
as tokens that they shall be happily married themselves. 
Thus does hope reign among this people of brothers, and 
associate by propitious omens future happiness with present 
felicity. 



CHAPTER X. 



HUNGARY. 

EXTENT — DIVISION CONSTITUTION VAST ESTATES OP 

THE MAGNATS STATE OF THE PEASANTRY THEIR IN- 
DOLENCE THIEVISH DISPOSITION OF THE HERDSMEN 

PUNISHMENTS HUNGARIAN PRISON GENERAL APPEAR- 
ANCE OF THE PEASANTS AND THEIR HABITATIONS IN DIF- 
FERENT COUNTIES HORNED CATTLE SHEEP VILLAGE 

HERDSMEN RAVAGES OF WOLVES GRANARIES COS- 
TUMES. 

The kingdom of Hungary, the superficial area of which 
exceeds four thousand German square miles, and which 
contains nearly nine millions of inhabitants, is a highly in- 
teresting country both in a geographical and a moral point 
of view. If the observer cannot help admiring the abun- 
dance and extraordinary variety of its natural productions, 
neither can he behold without astonishment the diversity 
of the races composing its population, and the differences 
which prevail in their manners, customs, and religion. 
The variety in costume is not less striking, as we shall 
hereafter have occasion to show. 

Civil Hungary, Croatia and Slavonia, are divided into 
four^districts comprehending fifty-two counties. 

E 



50 AUSTRIA. 

Hungary is an hereditary but limited monarchy, the 
crown of which has been held since 1527 by the house of 
Austria. The king possesses many important rights and 
prerogatives, but at the same time the rights and privileges 
of the Hungarian nobility also are numerous and extensive. 
The nobility alone are designated in the language of the 
state by the appellation of the Hungarian people, and they 
are distinguished in a peculiar manner from the nobles of 
all other European nations by the circumstance, that the 
grants of their privileges have suffered least from the 
changes of time, and that the characteristic features of 
these rights, now in the nineteenth century, approach 
nearer than any to those of the nobles in the days of the 
crusades. 

This constitution bears a nearer resemblance to our own 
in its earlier periods, as it regards the king, the magnats 
or grandees, and the deputies in diet assembled, than that 
of any of the northern nations : yet it differs widely from it 
in all that relates to the lower order of the.people, whose 
interests have been completely overlooked, and who are 
still in nearly the same state of villanage that prevailed in 
most parts of Europe during the feudal ages. 

The country in general is parcelled out among the mag- 
nats, some of whom possess estates of immense extent. 
In considering a Hungarian property, says Dr. Bright, we 
must figure to ourselves a landed proprietor possessing 
ten, twenty or forty estates, distributed in difTerent parts of 
the kingdom, reckoning his acres by hundreds of thousands, 
and the peasants upon his estates by numbers almost as 
great; we must remember that all this extent of land is 
cultivated, not by farmers, but by his own stewards and 
officers, who have not only to attend to the agricultural 
management of the land, but to direct to a certain extent 
the administration of justice among the people ; we must 
farther bear in mind, that perhaps one-third of this exten- 
sive territory consists of the deepest forests, affording a 
retreat and shelter not only to beasts of prey, but to many 
lawless and desperate characters, who often defy for a 
great length of time the vigilance of the police — w^e shall 



AUSTRIA. 5i 

then have some faint conception of the situation and duties 
of a Hungarian magnat. 

The same writer, in his interesting Travels in Hungary, 
describes the singular manner in which land is possessed 
and distributed in this country. No man can possess land 
who is not a noble of Hungary : but as all the family of a 
nobleman are also noble, it is calculated that one out of 
every twenty- one individuals in the nation is of this class. 
The lands descend either entire to the eldest son, or are 
equally divided among the sons, or in some cases among 
the children of both sexes : so that many of the nobles be- 
come by these divisions extremely poor, and are obliged to 
discharge all the duties of the meanest peasant. If any of 
these nobles wish to sell an estate to a stranger, however 
high in rank, even to a noble of the Austrian empire, ap- 
phcation must first be made to the surrounding proprietors 
to learn whether they wish to purchase at the stipulated 
price. If they decline, a stranger hiay purchase it for a 
period of thirty years, at the end of which time any branch 
of the family which sold it, however distantly related, may 
oblige the stranger to surrender his bargain. This system 
is carried so far, that in many cases though the purchaser 
be a Hungarian noble, the family of the former possessor 
can reclaim it after thirty years, on payment of the original 
price, together with expenses incurred in the buildings and 
improvements made during that period. The litigation, ill- 
will and evils of every kind to which such laws give rise 
are beyond calculation. 

The peasants on these estates were formerly bound to 
perform indefinite services, on account of supposed grants 
and privileges, likewise little understood. The empress 
Maria Theresa put the whole under certain regulations, 
which left less arbitrary power in the hands of the lord. 
She fixed the quantity of land upon each estate which was 
to remain irrevocably in the possession of the peasantry, 
giving to each peasant his portion called a session^ and 
defining the services which he should in return perform for 
his lord. The only points determined, however, were, the 
whole quantity of land assigned to the peasants ; and the 
proportion between the quantity of land and the quantity of 
labour to be required for it. The individual peasants are not 



52 AUSTRIA. 

fixed to the soil, but may always be dismissed when the su- 
perior finds cause ; nor is it of necessity that the son should 
succeed the father, though usually the case. The "peasant 
has no absolute claim to a whole session ; if the lord 
pleases he may give but half or a third of a session, but in 
this case he cannot require more than one-half or one-third 
of the labour. The quantity of land allotted to a whole 
session is fixed for each county. In the county of Neutra, 
for instance, it varies, according to the quality of the soil, 
from twenty to thirty joc/i, each equal to nearly an English 
statute acre and a half; and of these sixteen or twenty 
must be arable and the rest meadow. 

The services required of the head of the family for the 
whole session are one hundred and four days' labour 
during the year, if he work without cattle, or fifty-two days 
if he bring two horses or oxen, or four if necessary, with 
ploughs and carts. In this work he may either employ 
himself, or if he prefer and can afford it, may send a ser- 
vant. Besides this he must give four fowls, a dozen eggs 
and a pound and a half of butter ; and every thirty pea- 
sants must give one calf yearly. He must also pay a 
florin for his house ; must cut and bring home a klafter of 
wood ; must spin in his family six pounds of wool or hemp 
provided by the landlord ; and among four peasants the 
proprietor claims what is called a long journey, that is, 
they must transport twenty centners, each one hundred 
pounds weight, the distance of two days' journey out and 
home ; and besides all this, they must pay one-tenth of all 
their products to the church, and one-ninth to the lord. 

Such are the services owed by the peasant, and happy 
would he be were he subject to no other claims. Unfor- 
tunately, however, the peasant of Hungary has scarcely 
any political rights, and is considered by the government 
much more than by the landlord, in the light of a slave. 
By an unlimited extension of the aristocratical privilege, 
the noble is free from every burden, and the whole is ac- 
cumulated on the peasant. The noble pays no tribute, 
and goes freely through the country, subject to neither tolls 
nor duties ; but the peasant is liable to tribute, and though 
there may be some nominal restrictions to the services due 



AUSTRIA. 53 

from him to government, it may safely be asserted, that 
there is no limit in point of fact to the services which he is 
compelled to perform. Whatever public work is to be exe- 
cuted, not only when a road is to be repaired, but when new 
roads are to be made, or bridges built, the county-meeting 
gives the order and the peasant dares not refuse to execute 
it. All soldiers passing through the country are quartered 
exclusively upon the peasantry. They must provide them 
without recompense with bread, and furnish their horses 
with corn, and whenever required by a particular order, 
they must provide the person bringing it with horses and 
means of conveyance. Such an order is always employed 
by the officers of government, and whoever can in any way 
plead public business as the cause of his journey, takes care 
to provide himself with it. In all levies of soldiers, the 
whole falls upon the peasant, and the choice is left to the 
arbitrary discretion of the lord and his servants. 

This system is not calculated to satisfy either the land- 
lord or the peasant. The benefit derived by the latter is 
by no means proportionate to the sacrifice which the former 
is obliged to make. The quantity of land appropriated to 
the peasant is enormous : still he labours unwillingly, and 
of course ineflfectually, under the idea that he works from 
compulsion and not for pay. In order to do all the farm-^ 
ing work upon a given estate by the peasants, nearly one- 
half of the land capable of cultivation is portioned out 
among the labourers ; nay there are estates every acre of 
which is occupied by the peasants, the landlord receiving 
nothing but the tenths and other casual services, unless he 
has occasion to send them to labour on some other of his 
estates. On other properties again there are no peasants — 
and this appears to be the state of things most desirable to 
the proprietor — so much so, that there are instances even 
where peasants have been on an estate, in which the lord 
has almost neglected to require their services, finding his 
labour better performed by hired servants. 

If, however, the landlord have little reason to be satisfied, 

still less can the peasant be supposed to rejoice in his 

situation. On a failure of his crops, the latter, who has 

nothing but his field, starves or becomes a burden to his 

E2 



54 



AUSTRIA. 



lord. Though the lord can legally claim a certain quantity 
only of labour, yet there are numberless pretexts on which 
he can demand more and be supported in those demands. 
The administration of justice is in a great degree vested in 
his own hands. There are many little faults for which a 
peasant becomes liable to be punished with blows or fines, 
but which he is often permitted to commute for labour. In 
fact, these things happen so frequently, and other extorted 
days of labour, which the peasant fears to refuse, occur so 
often, that, instead of estimating his labour at one hundred 
and four days, we should come much nearer to the truth 
were we to double that amount. Should, however, the 
lord or his agents have too strong a sense of justice to 
transgress the strictness of the law, still they can at any 
time call upon the peasants to serve for pay, and that not 
at the usual wages of a servant, but about one-third as 
much. Add to all this the services due to the government ; 
the cases in which a peasant is obliged to be six weeks to- 
gether from his home, with his horses and cart, carrying 
imperial stores to the frontier, and it will be evident how 
dearly he pays for the land which he holds as the only re- 
turn for his labour. 

After this explanation we cannot be surprised to learn 
that a marked feature in the character of the Hungarian 
peasant is indolence. This observation applies particularly 
to those of the counties around the Flatten Lake. The 
equality and the savage life to which the people are here 
accustomed when pasturing their cattle in the forests are 
probably the chief causes of the frequent robberies that 
occur. Though robbers by profession, subsisting entirely 
on the fruits of their depredations abroad, still far the 
greater number are cattle-keepers under the various names 
of Tsikos, Gulyas, Juhasz, or Kanasz. 

The latter are particularly notorious, and scarcely one 
person worthy of trust is to be found among them. The 
herdsmen are usually mere thieves, stealing cattle when 
they can, and plundering travellers when good opportu- 
nities present themselves. Those on the contrary who 
have no other occupation than to seek booty, and live con- 
stantly in the forest, steal cattle only when driven by ne- 



AUSTRIA. 55 

cessity ; the plunder of the traveller, whom they frequently 
murder, being their principal object. Jews and butchers 
are more particularly exposed to their attacks : the officers 
of the crown and the nobles are safe from a dread of the 
inquiry which in such cases would not fail to be instituted. 
They generally hail a carriage with a demand of money, 
styling themselves szegeny legeny, or poor fellows. • The 
little solitary public houses suffer much from them, for 
when they can obtain nothing elsewhere they enter them 
and eat and drink without paying. Such houses are in 
consequence extremely unsafe, and the more so because 
the innkeepers are frequently connected with the robbers 
either as receivers or accomplices. In order to put a 
stop to this evil, pursuits are often instituted by the county, 
when some of the offenders are generally taken, but the 
extent of the county and the insufficient strength of the 
police prevent their total extermination. 

In shght offences rather against good order than against 
law, the hofrichter, or steward of a magnat, may at all times 
punish a peasant with stripes. For this purpose he is 
provided with a machine like a low table, on which the 
culprit lies, with two iron cramps at one end for confining 
the wrists, two at the other for securing the ankles, and a 
large one in the middle to pass over the back. Stretched 
out in this helpless situation, the culprit receives a certain 
number of stripes on the bare back with a stick. A no- 
torious robber taken in the act may be put to death. When 
the case is not so clear, and confession cannot be obtained 
from the accused by examination, recourse is had to the 
discipline just described ; and should this expedient also 
fail, and there be strong presumption of guilt, the prisoner 
is brought to trial before a court composed of servants of 
the lord and a few respectable freemen. From the deci- 
sion of this court, which is completely under the influence 
of the magnat, appeals indeed lie to higher courts, and 
capital punishment cannot be inflicted without the sanction 
of those courts and also of the king. 

Dr. Bright draws a striking but most revolting picture 
of a Hungarian prison. The place chosen for the con- 
finement of prisoners, says that writer, is usually close ad- 



55 AUSTRIA. 

joining to, or forms part of the dwelling of the lord : and 
as they are generally employed in labour, the traveller 
seldom approaches the house of a Hungarian noble who 
possesses the jus gladii, without being shocked by the 
clanking of chains and the exhibition of these objects of 
misery loaded with irons. The prison itself is never con- 
cealed from the curiosity of strangers ; I should almost 
say that it is considered a boast, a kind of badge of the 
power which the lord possesses. One of the best I saw 
was at Keszthely. It forms an insignificant part of a large 
low building immediately opposite to the entrance of the 
castle, in which are the residences of several inferior of- 
ficers of the estate. Under the guidance of the keeper of the 
prison I entered by a door well barred and bolted. Instantly 
seventeen figures all in the long Hungarian cloak, rose from 
the ground on which they were sitting.. Besides themselves, 
the room, which was not above twelve feet square, pre- 
sented no one object — no table, bed or chair. It was ven- 
tilated and lighted by several small grated windows high 
up in the sides of the walls. The prisoners were most of 
them young men : some had been tried, others had not ; 
and some had been confined seven or eight years. Their 
crimes were very different ; but no difference was made 
in the mode of treating them, excepting as to the num- 
ber of lashes they were to receive at stated times, or 
the number of years they were to be imprisoned. Such 
was their residence in the day-time when they did not go 
out to work. We next proceeded to the dungeon in which 
they are confined during the night, the gaoler taking the 
precaution to disguise unpleasant smells by carrying a fu- 
migating pot before us. On opening an inner door we 
entered a small room, in the corner of which lay two 
women on beds of straw. In the middle of the floor was 
an iron grate. This being opened by my guide, he de- 
scended first by means of a ladder, with a lamp in his hand, 
by the light of which I perceived that we were in a small 
antichamber or cell, from which a door opened into the 
dungeon, the us Jal sleeping-place of all the male prisoners. 
It was a small oblong vaulted cave, in which the only fur- 
niture was two straw mattresses. A few ragged articles^ 



AUSTRIA. 57 

of dress lay near the place where each prisoner was ac- 
customed to rest upon the naked floor. In one corner of 
the room was a large strong chain, and about a foot and a 
half from the ground round the whole vault were rings let 
into the wall. The prisoners at night having laid them- 
selves upon the ground, the chain is put through the irons 
which confine the ankles of three of them and is passed 
into a ring in the wall : it is then attached to three more, 
and is passed through a second ring, and continued in this 
way till a complete circuit of the room is made. The ends 
of the chain are fastened together by a padlock, by which 
the whole is firmly secured. It was painful to reflect that 
in this state some of these wretches had already passed 
their nights during seven years. 

The general appearance of the peasants and of their 
habitations in the vicinity of Presburg, is thus described by 
the same intelHgent observer : — 

No one peasant has proceeded in the, arts of life and 
civilization a step farther than his neighbour. When you 
have seen one you have seen all. From the same little 
hat, covered with oil, falls the same matted long black 
hair, negligently plaited or tied in knots ; and over the 
same dirty jacket and trowsers is wrapped on each a cloak 
of coarse woollen cloth or sheep-skin still retaining its 
wool. Whether it be winter or summer, week-day or 
sabbath, the Slavonian of this district never lays aside his 
cloak or is seen but in heavy boots. Their instruments of 
agriculture are throughout the same, and in all their habi- 
tations is observed a perfect uniformity of design. A wide 
muddy road separates two rows of cottages which consti- 
tute a village. From among them there is no possibility 
of selecting the best or the worst : they are absolutely uni- 
form. In some villages the cottages present their ends, in 
others their sides to the road : but there is seldom this 
variety in the same village. 

The interior of the cottage is in general divided into 
three small rooms on the ground-floor, and a little space 
in the roof destined for lumber. The roof is commonly 
covered with a very thick thatch : the walls are white- 
washed, and have two small windows toward the road. 



58 AUSTRIA. 

The cottages are usually placed a few yards distant from 
each other. The intervening space, defended by a rail 
and gate or a fence of wicker-work towards the road, 
forms the farm-yard, which runs back some way and con- 
tains a shed or out-house for cattle. 

The cottages of the peasants of a village belonging to 
Count Hunyadi, in the county of Neutra, are thus de- 
scribed : — 

The door opens in the side of the house into the middle 
room or kitchen, in which is an oven constructed of clay, 
and various implements for household purposes which 
generally occupy this apartment fully. On each side of 
the room is a door, communicating on one hand with the 
family dormitory, in which are the two windows that look 
into the road. This chamber is usually small but well ar- 
ranged : the beds in good order, piled upon each other, to 
be spread on the floor at night, and the walls covered with 
a variety of pictures and images of our Saviour, together 
with dishes, plates, and vessels of coarse earthenware. 
The other door from the kitchen leads to the store-room, 
the repository of the greater part of the peasant's riches, 
consisting of bags of grain of various kinds, both for con- 
sumption and for seed, bladders of tallow, sausages and 
other articles of provision, in quantities which it would 
astonish us to find in an English cottage. We must, how- 
ever, bear in mind, that the harvest of the Hungarian 
peasant anticipates the income of the whole year, and 
that, from the circumstances in which he is placed, he 
should be compared with our farmer rather than with our. 
labourer. The yards or folds between the houses are 
generally much neglected, and dirty receptacles of a thou- 
sand uncleanly objects. Light carts and ploughs with 
which the owner performs his stated labour ; his meagre 
cattle ; a loose rudely-formed heap of hay, and half a dozen 
ragged children, stand there in mixed confusion, over which 
three or four noble dogs, of a breed somewhat resembling 
the Newfoundland, keep faithful watch. 

The habitations of the peasantry in the villages in the 
vicinity of Keszthely, in the county of Szalad, are built of 
clay, not regularly thatched, but covered with straw held 



AUSTRIA. 59 

down by poles laid upon it. The inclosures round the 
houses and yards are formed of reeds, and the village bell 
is raised upon a pole in a case like a pigeon-house. 

In the district between the Drave and the Muhr, called 
the Murakos, the houses are larger and higher, having a 
complete upper floor. The roof generally projects four or 
five feet beyond the wall in the front, where it is supported 
by wooden pillars which rest upon large beams of timber, 
and thus a gallery is formed the whole length of the house. 
This passage, slightly raised above the ground, is usually 
much wider about the centre of the front, where the building 
recedes : and here the females of the family often sit at a 
table working. The walls of this part of the cottage are 
covered on the outside with shelves, upon which the dishes 
and household utensils are arranged. Such is the habitual 
honesty of the people of this district, that these articles 
remain there in perfect security, without the protection of 
the numerous watch-dogs which guard the most insignifi- 
cant cottage in other parts of Hungary. In some cases the 
passage is much larger, and the house being built in the form 
of an L, it is continued along the end and the two internal 
fronts. Between the pillars of this rude piazza a shelf is 
constructed and a cupboard fixed containing a vessel of 
water for domestic use. 

All the fences toward the road and those of the yards 
are of strong wicker-work thatched on the top with straw 
and reeds. In the yards stand several small buildings of 
the same materials, intended as houses for poultry, or as 
drying places for maize, together with large wooden 
hutches for pigs and an oven of clay and stone covered by 
a penthouse. The cottage kitchen is unusually conve- 
nient, and most of the cookery is carried on by means of 
the ordinary hearth-fire of Germany, to which is added an 
oven as part of the kitchen furniture. 

Many of the roads in this part of the country are bor- 
dered on each side with mulberry trees, which have been 
planted as common property, with a view to the breeding 
of silk-worms. Considerable pains have here been taken 
to encourage that branch of industry, which nevertheless 
is not very flourishing. 



50 AUSTRIA. 

The native Hungarian breed of horned cattle bears 
much resemblance to the wild white species which was 
formerly found in Britain. They are large, vigorous, and 
active, of a dirty white colour, with horns of prodigious 
length, exceeding in this respect even the long-horned 
breed of Lancashire. The oxen are admirably adapted 
for the plough, uniting to all the qualities of the ordinary 
ox, a very superior degree of activity. 

Buffaloes are bred in Hungary for the same purposes 
as other horned cattle. The milk which they give is richer 
than other milk and the quantity considerable. As beasts 
of labour they are excessively strong, but slow and un- 
manageable. The number kept in Hungary and Transyl- 
vania is estimated at 70,000. 

Bredetzky, a Hungarian writer, observes that Buffaloes 
are extremely valuable for their skins, wh-ich are employed 
at Rhonasech in forming the bags in which salt is raised 
from the mines. He also speaks of their ferocity and the 
difficulty of killing them in terms which would almost lead 
us to suppose them to be in a state of nature in that part 
of the country. The operation of shooting the Buffalo, 
says he,- is curious but extremely dangerous, for in no 
other way can they be secured on account of their wildness. 
It is not possible to kill them with an axe like other cattle. 
They are first driven with great care from the inclosure in 
which they have been kept, and a shot is levelled by a 
person concealed exactly at the forehead. If he misses 
his aim, the animal with the most tremendous fury darts 
away so swiftly that dogs can scarcely overtake him, and 
any one who stands in his way is inevitably killed. 

The original breed of Hungarian sheep is the real Ovis 
Strepsiceros of naturalists, covered with very coarse wool 
and bearing upright spiral horns. Improvement on this 
stock by crosses with other varieties, and the Spanish in 
particular, is become so general, that a flock of the native 
race is seldom to be met with, excepting on the estates of 
the clergy. The wool is now an important object of com- 
merce. It was calculated that in 1802, above twelve 
million and a half pounds (each pound being equal to one 
pound and a quarter of our weight) was exported from 



AUSTRIA. 61 

Hungary. A large portion goes to Austria, and is there 
manufactured or sent to more distant markets ; and much 
of the wool sold in England as Saxon wool, is actually the 
produce of Hungary, exported in spite of the heavy duty 
which it pays on leaving the Austrian dominions. 

Some idea of the extraordinary care bestowed by the 
great landed proprietors on the improvement of their flocks 
may be formed from the following brief sketch of the 
system pursued by Count Hunyadi, who possesses about 
seventeen thousand sheep. 

At each of the head-quarters for these animals, there 
are well-built sheds having brick pillars at certain dis- 
tances, which leave about half the side open, and thus 
admit a free circulation of air during summer, and afford 
easy means of excluding the cold in winter. The height 
of the sheds is about seven feet to the springing of the 
roof, and they are divided by little racks into such spaces 
as are necessary for the division among the flocks. Racks 
are also arranged round the whole, so that all the sheep 
can conveniently feed at them. The floor is covered 
v^-ith straw, and the upper layer being continually renewed, 
a dry, warm bedding is obtained. In these houses the 
sheep are kept almost incessantly during the winter, that 
is, from November till April, and are then fed three times 
a day upon dry food. They are watered twice a day from 
a well close at hand. Even in summer the sheep are 
driven under cover every evening, and they are conducted 
home in the day-time, when it rains or the heat is oppres- 
sive. They always lamb in the house ; the ewe being 
placed on this occasion in a little pen by herself, where 
she remains unmolested. These pens, about three feet 
long and two wide, are made of hurdles. Owing to this 
care they never lose a lamb. The number of persons em- 
ployed is about one man to every hundred sheep, and 
each of them considers his flock as his family and pride. 

The result of all this attention has been a success which 
could scarcely have been anticipated. A conception can 
hardly be formed of flocks more uniformly excellent. It 
is of course the wool and not the carcase, which is the 
great object in a country so poor and so thinly peopled as 

F 



52 AUSTRIA. 

Hungary. The sheep are strong and healthy, and for the 
Spanish cross large ; their fleeces perfect, and even the 
tail and legs covered with good wool. Three pounds, 
(about three pounds and three quarters of our weight) is 
the average produce of each sheep : but some, and par- 
ticularly the rams, yield six or seven. The whole of the 
wool, without any separation, and only washed on the 
back of the sheep, is sold at the rate of from three shil- 
lings to four shillings and sixpence sterling for each Hun- 
garian pound ; and the consequence is that from flocks, 
which, if covered with the ordinary wool of the country, 
might be expected to yield fifteen or twenty thousand gul- 
den, not les than fifty thousand is now annually produced. 

Count Hunyadi has also taken great pains to improve 
the breed of his horses at his estate at Urmeny, in the 
county of Neutra ; and with a view to ascertain the pro- 
gress which he makes, and at the same time from a desire 
of exciting the country to exertion, he has instituted races 
on the English model. Solicitous to infuse into his own 
peasantry a spirit of improvement in this particular, he 
appoints a day on which their horses alone run, and gives 
rewards to the successful competitors. His stables are a 
fine range of building, with wooden floors, and contain 
from thirty to forty horses, chiefly crosses of the Arabian 
and Transylvanian breeds. His breeding stud is kept at a 
farm a few miles distant. Other proprietors of estates are 
beginning to understand the object and to appreciate the 
advantages of the plan of this spirited nobleman. 

It is the custom throughout all Hungary, for the inhabi- 
tants of each village to commit their cattle to the care of a 
herdsman who, at a certain hour in the morning, drives 
them to the common pasture and brings them home at 
night. He carries a wooden trumpet, nearly four feet in 
length, exactly resembling the instrument usually put by 
artists into the hand of Fame. With this trumpet, the 
sound of which is harsh, he gives notice of his approach, 
and the peasants turn their cattle out of their yards that 
they may join his drove. In the evening when he con- 
ducts his motley crew of horses, cows, sheep, and goats 
back to the village, each individual finds, as it were in^ 



AUSTRIA. 63 

slinctively, the cottage of his master, and quietly retires to 
his accustomed stall. The peasants pay the herdsman a 
small sum for each animal, but part of this remuneration 
is always made in grain or bread. 

The ravages of wolves among the cattle, especially in 
the neighbourhood of woody mountains, are extremely se- 
rious. In all the frontiers these animals are much dread- 
ed. In the hard winter of 1803, no fewer than 1533 head 
of cattle were devoured by them in the single district of 
the Wallacho-Illyrian regiment, which gave rise to some 
attempts to destroy them by poison, as the Turks are 
known to do by means of the aconitum napelhis. The 
mix vomica was here employed, and not without success. 

When much distressed for food, the wolves will some- 
times attack the cottages of the peasants. An instance of 
this kind is related by Dr. Bright to have occurred not long 
before his visit at Leutschau. A woman who had two 
children, the one about twenty years of age, the other 
much younger, had just quitted her cottage in the morn- 
ing, when a wolf rushed upon her and tore her face dread- 
fully: then leaving the first object of its rage, the animal 
fixed upon the child, and in an instant lacerated its head 
and deprived it of both eyes. The elder son alarmed, flew 
to the spot, and seizing the wolf by the throat, held it at 
bay for some moments ; but being unable to maintain the 
unequal conflict, became himself the object of attack: the 
hungry beast fixed his fangs deep in his neck. The cries 
of the unhappy victims brought some assistance to the 
spot, and the wolf made his escape. As soon, however, as 
the necessary aid had been afforded to the sufferers, an ac- 
tive pursuit was instituted and the animal was discovered 
in a thicket. A young man levelled his piece : it missed 
fire, and the wolf was in the very act of springing on its 
pursuer, when it was brought to the ground by a well 
aimed blow of a cudgel. 

The mode of storing wheat generally adopted in this 
country is very objectionable. After being beaten out, 
often by the feet of horses and oxen, it is deposited in 
holes in the ground, where it is kept during the winter. 
There it acquires a strong mouldy smell, which, indeed, 



64 AUSTRIA. 

goes off in some degree by exposure to the air. These 
holes are dug of a circular form and about three feet deep; 
and an excavation is made of such dimensions that a man 
can sit in it to stow away the grain and assist in bringing 
it to the surface when required. This done, a fire is kin- 
dled in it to harden the sides, which are afterwards lined 
with straw. When the grain is thus stowed, straw is placed 
upon the top, and earth thrown in to fill up the entrance 
hole, which forms the neck, as it were, of the cave, and a 
little heap of earth remains pointing out the spot ; or a 
piece of wood is stuck in it as a mark. There is scarcely 
a village near which a number of such hillocks are not to 
be seen. 

We shall now present the reader with an account of the 
costumes prevailing in different parts of the country. 



PEASANT 



COUNTY OF WESZPRIM. 

The figure in the annexed engraving represents the 
costume of the son of a wealthy Hungarian peasant of the 
county of Weszprim in his Sunday apparel. He has just 
filled his pipe, but is supposed to have been too deeply en- 
gaged in conversation to light it. The nosegay in his hat 
was probably snatched from the bosom of some pretty girl 
in coming from church, and this is the usual prelude to a 
more intimate acquaintance. The leathern tunic of a light 
colour hanging loosely from his shoulders, adorned with 
curious patterns and trimmed with fur, is the ordinary cos- 
tume of a wealthy rustic. 

The costume of the noblemen of Hungary, which par- 
takes largely of that here exhibited, is described as being sin- 
gularly picturesque. It consists of a large broad-brimmed 




o" \'h.c Coaiulj-of Szolaolj--V\'eszpilm. 



AUSTRIA. 65 

hat, slouched behind, an ornamental jacket and light panta- 
loons of bright blue, with a number of silver buttons, Hes- 
sian boots, a girdle round the waist, from which hangs a 
tobacco-pouch, and a green mantle descending from the 
shoulders. 



FEMALE PEASANT 



COUNTY OF WE SZ PRIM. 



To the dress of the unmarried daughter of an opulent 
peasant of the county of Weszprim, when decked out in 
her holiday finery, the flowered corset and numerous neck- 
laces essentially belong. Her red shoes, which have fre- 
quently white heels, are rendered still more conspicuous 
by the work in front, and the blue stockings are adorned 
with red and white clocks. Her head is uncovered, and 
merely encircled with a bandeau of black velvet. 

The matrons are less studious of ornament : their corset, 
shoes, and stockings, are generally quite plain. When 
they go abroad, they cover the head with a white cloth, 
which hangs down over the back and shoulders, and wear 
over their other garments a blue cloth jacket with long 
sleeves, open in front and bordered with fur. 

The women of the county of Neutra dress nearly in 
the same manner: wearing short pelisses of blue cloth lined 
and bordered with fur or wool, and white handkerchiefs 
closely bound about their heads. 



A CZIKOS. 



In the Hungarian language, the term Czikos or Tsikos, 
signifies a keeper or tender of horses. 
F2 



66 AUSTRIA. 

Mezohegyes is an imperial domain in the county of 
Csanader, where, during the reign of the emperor Joseph 
11. in 1785, a stud of horses was estabUshed. This in- 
stitution is unrivalled in Europe both for its magnitude and 
value. The establishment, when complete, consists of 
nearly 17,000 horses and upwards of 700 men, of whom 
238 are Csikoses. 

They are a handsome, not very tall, but robust and mus- 
cular race of men, inured to all sorts of privations, and en- 
during them with the greatest ease, owing to the small 
number of their wants. These are almost confined to 
bread, bacon and tobacco, which is with them a necessary 
of life. If to these the Csikos can add a pudding of maize- 
flour and a bit of fresh pork, he has nothing more than a 
pint of wine to wish for. 

The dress of these men is as simple as their fare. A 
wide shirt and loose trowsers of coarse Hnen, a high felt 
cap, and convenient boots of horse hide, a leathern girdle, 
a curiously worked tobacco-pouch of sheep-leather, with 
its accompaniments, are all that they need, besides a 
sheep-skin with the wool on, which serves both for gar- 
ment, tent and bed. The linen garments become extreme- 
ly dirty from long wearing, for when once on they are never 
taken off till they drop to pieces and are replaced by new 
ones. The reader will not be surprized at this, when he 
knows that these men are obliged to pass three-fourths of 
the year on the moors, without any other shelter than the 
firmament of heaven, and therefore cannot possibly be pro- 
vided with a wardrobe. 

Their dexterity and strength, and the courage which 
they display in their vocation are truly astonishing. In 
order to be able duly to appreciate these qualities, it is ne- 
cessary to have witnessed the scene which takes place, 
when the owner of a herd of wild horses orders some of 
them to be caught. The animals are first driven very 
adroitly into a large inclosure. Here the owner or pur- 
chaser points out which of them he wishes to have caught, 
on which some of the Csikoses go with long ropes having 
nooses at the end, among the horses, and endeavour to 
fling the nooses over their heads. In this attempt the 



AUSTftlA: 57 

Csikos generally succeeds at the first trial. lie then 
throws the animal upon the ground, where he is held down 
by his comrades, and in this state a bridle is quickly put 
on him. The conqueror places it between his legs ; the 
rope is loosed, the horse springs like lightning from the 
ground, with the Csikos on his bare back, and holding by 
the mane. The furious beast darts off at full speed: the 
undaunted rider lets him run and even applies his whip 
from time to time, till his steed, weary with the length of 
his course, slackens his pace. The Csikos then begins to 
exert himself and to make use of the bridle. Man and 
horse return home exhausted with hunger, thirst and fa- 
tigue ; the latter is conducted for the first time into a sta- 
ble, where the operations of breaking commence while the 
former relates to his comrades over the smoking board the 
adventures of his hazardous journey, on the steed winged 
by rage and terror. 

Besides the Csikoses there are other classes of herds- 
men denominated from their particular occupation Gulyas, 
cowherds ; Juhasz, shepherds ; and Kanasz, swineherds. 

The mode of life of these herdsmen, who are brought up 
from childhood to this occupation, and during the summer 
seldom approach the habitations of men, appear to have 
debased them so much, that even in this country, uncivi- 
lized as it is, they are considered as a tribe of savages. 

The dress of these cattle-keepers in the county t)f Schii- 
megh, consisting of a shirt and wide trowsers of coarse 
linen as already described, is rendered stifi" and of a dark 
dirty colour by the giease with which it is purposely im- 
bued. Their object in thus besmearing the clothes is to 
render them more durable, and to prevent vermin from 
harbouring in them, as well as to defend the person from 
the bites of gnats : but whatever the object maybe, they 
are seldom changed before they are ready to fall in pieces. 
The feet are enveloped in wool, over which they fasten on 
th||sole a piece of leather by straps. Besides a round 
hat, frequently ornamented with a ribbon, and a large man- 
tle of thick coarse woollen cloth, for here they seldom 
use sheep-skin cloaks, they are provided with a leathern 
pocket, hanging by a broad belt over the shoulder, and 



S8 AUSTRIA. 

carry, for offence and defence, a small axe with a long 
handle. The broad belt by which the pocket hangs is ge- 
nerally adorned with two or three rows of shining metal 
buttons, for which these herdsmen are so eager, that they 
have been often known to fall upon travellers for the sake 
of them alone. The axe serves them in place of a stick, 
and in time of need becomes a formidable weapon against 
man or beast. They understand the management of 
this instrument so well, that at the distance of twenty or 
thirty paces they seldom miss a mark set up against the 
trunk of a tree. Their skill in this exercise is derived 
from constant practice while their flocks are feeding. — 
These men are still more careful in besmearing the hair 
of their head with grease than even their dress, and they 
then tie it up in knots hanging on each side below the 
ear. 



PEASANT OF BOCSKO, 



COUNTY OF MARMAROS. 



The county of Marmaros forms a strong contrast with 
the rest of Hungary. In regard to situation it might justly 
be denominated the eastern Highlands, the principal valley 
alone being conveniently habitable. The rest of the coun- 
try consists of bare mountains and forests : hence the po- 
pulation bears no proportion to the extent of this country. 
It is chiefly remarkable for its rich salt-works, which 
furnish 30,000 tons of salt annually, and its numerous 
mineral springs. 

The woodcutter of Bocsko in the county of Marmaros, 
whose axe is his only companion, frequently abides for 
weeks together in the immense forests, to earn where- 
withal to satisfy his scanty wants, partly by cutting wood 



AUSTRIA. 59 

for fuel, which he conveys at a very moderate rate to Szi- 
geth, the capital of the county, and partly by furnishing 
timber for salt-rafts. 

His apparel is of coarse hempen stuff; in winter, he 
dresses rather warmer, but even then his bosom is un- 
covered and icicles may be seen hanging from it, without 
prejudice to the health of this hardy Highlander. His 
shoes consist of a piece of tanned ox-hide, which is fas- 
tened on the foot with a leathern thong, and just serves to 
keep it from the ground. 



UNMARRIED FEMALE PEASANT OF BOCSKO, 



COUNTY OF MARMAROS. 

The unmarried female appears in all her finery. Her 
head is encircled with a metal hoop adorned with beads 
and flowers. Round her neck she wears several necklaces 
of coral, and a black and red silk handkerchief covers her 
bosom. Over this she sometimes throws another of larger 
dimensions, which, from the variety of its colours and 
forms, resembles a piece of patchwork. The red boots 
are worn only on extraordinary occasions, and the owners 
generally carry them in their hands to church, to protect 
them from the wet which would stain them indelibly. It 
is well known that the same practice prevails among the 
females in the Highlands of Scotland. 



70 AUSTRIA. 



MARRIED FEMAXE PEASANT OF BOCSKO. 



COUNTY OF MARMAROS. 

The married woman is more simply clad : yet the em- 
broidery on her loose jacket without sleeves, trimmed with 
fur, and on the short sleeves of her chemise, drawn tight 
round the arm below the elbow, show that the cares of a 
family have not rendered the matron wholly negligent of 
personal decoration. Her head-dress consists of a hand- 
kerchief tied under her chin, and she goes according to 
the custom of the country on ordinary occasions, without 
shoes or stockings. 

The v/omen of this part of Hungary are remarkable for 
their industrious disposition : they are never idle, but even 
in their walks carry with them a portable distaff, and ply 
the spindle without intermission. 



CHAPTER XI. 



TRANSYLVANIA. 

EXTENT AND POPULATION MANNERS OF THE WALA- 

CHIANS THE GIPSIES COSTUMES. 

The grand principality of Transylvania, about one-sixth 
of the extent of Hungary, contains a population of about 
a million and a half. It presents as great a diversity of 



AUSTRIA. 71 

nations and religions as Hungary, being inhabited by 
Hungarians, Germans, Walachians, Greeks, Servians, 
Armenians, Bulgarians, Poles, Slowaks, Jews, and Gip- 
sies, and containing, besides the four religions established 
by law, namely, those of the Catholics, Reformed Lu- 
therans, and Unitarians, also disunited Greek Christians 
and Jews. The Armenians and* united Greeks are num- 
bered among the Catholics. It may naturally be supposed 
that the variety of nations may be perceived in the variety 
of their peculiar costumes, of which we shall present some 
specimens. 

The Walachians, a great number of whom are spread 
throughout the Hungarian counties, are the most nume- 
rous race of the inhabitants of Transylvania. They may 
be divided into three classes. To some of them all the rights 
of nobility have been granted by different kings and prin- 
ces of the country. They are ranked with the noble Hun- 
garian landholders and enjoy the same rights ; and among 
them are found several families of importance. Others 
belong to the class of knights who, on account of certain 
military services entrusted to them at different times, have 
obtained limited privileges of nobihty : but by far the great- 
er part of the Walachians are, like other peasants, bound 
to the service of the owner of the estate on which they 
live. Besides these, there are two Walachian frontier re- 
giments, and a third part of the Szekler hussars is formed 
from this nation. 

The Walachians are considered as one of those races 
which are tolerated in Transylvania, and according to the 
laws of that country cannot possess the rights of free citi- 
zens : but the free families are reckoned among the num- 
ber of that established nation in whose territory they reside. 
Their religion is the Greek church, either united or not 
united, the former being in the proportion of about two to 
nine of the latter. 

The total number of Walachians in the Austrian domi- 
nions is calculated at 1,600,000 : of whom 900,000 inha- 
bit Transylvania, 550,000 Hungary, 150,000 the Buko- 
wina. The latter are, more correctly speaking, Moldavians, 



72r AUSTRIA. 

but they differ little in language and manners from the ge- 
nuine Walachians. 

The Walachian is short in stature, but of a compact mus- 
cular frame of body. The savage mode of life to which 
he is accustomed from his earliest infancy enables him 
to bear hardships with fortitude. Heat and cold, hunger 
and thirst, make no impression upon him. His features 
are strong and expressive, his hair dark and bushy. His 
countenance on the whole is not disagreeable, and both 
men and women, as well as girls of great beauty, are 
often seen among these people. They arrive early at ma- 
turity, yet frequently live to an advanced age. At seventeen 
or eighteen the Walachian marries a wife who is seldom 
above thirteen ; before he is thirty he is a grandfather, 
so that the race multiplies rapidly, and the Walachians 
are already more numerous than all the other inhabitants 
of Transylvania. 

In regard to character the Walachians are sly, reserv- 
ed, cunning, revengeful and indolent. With the appear- 
ance of the greatest simplicity they well know how to profit 
by every opportunity of overreaching their neighbours. 
Indolence is a failing of the men rather than of the women, 
who perform all the labour of the house, make clothes for 
the whole family, and frequently afford their husbands 
much assistance in agriculture : whereas the men, after 
performing the most indispensable operations of the field 
and vineyard, pass the remainder of their time in idleness. 
The natural indolence of the Walachians receives much 
encouragement from the frequent holidays of the Greek 
church, which they usually spend in prayer, drinking and 
sloth. To work on such days would be criminal. 

They are much addicted to drink, and the Walachian 
will frequently consume in wine and brandy in a few hours 
the produce of the labour of a week. If he is fortunate 
enough to find a pipe or violin, in addition to a full pitcher, 
he seldom ceases from revelry till he is quite intoxicated, 
and is carried home senseless. It rarely happens that 
many Walachians are assembled under such circumstan- 
ces without fighting, for they are very quarrelsome when 
drunk. 



AUSTRIA. 



73 



The idleness of their disposition is naturally connected 
with an inclination to plunder ; and if the Walachians are 
not such professed thieves as the gipsies, they never suffer 
a favourable opportunity to pass, and are particularly 
dexterous at stealing cattle ; so that many laws passed in 
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are directed against 
them by name, and at the present time the inhabitants of 
the countries in which they reside take strong precautions 
to prevent their depredations. When they leave their 
homes, for fear of punishment or to avoid military service, 
they often retire to the forests and mountains, where, sin- 
gly, or in bands, they become the terror of the country. 
Perfectly acquainted with every hiding-place and every 
by-path, they are always ready to fall upon passing travel- 
lers, or to plunder lonely houses and villages, exercising 
the most inhuman cruelties : and in spite of the greatest 
precaution on the part both of the civil and military power, 
it is generally long before the depredators can be secured 
or expelled from their haunts, especially as .the inhabitants 
are prevented by fear of a cruel revenge from affording 
effective assistance. 

The Walachians are in the highest degree superstitious, 
but make no scruple of employing shocking oaths on 
every trifling occasion. The stupidity and avarice of the 
greater part of the clergy, who find a rich source of profit 
in the ignorance of the common people, tend to encourage 
the failings and depravity of their flock. The ignorance 
and want of cultivation in the inferior Walachian clergy 
exceeds all belief; and there can be no doubt that the first 
step towards an improvement in the morals of the people 
must be a reform in that order. 

The habitations of the Walachians are small and confin- 
ed ; their towns are generally built of mud and timber, 
very seldom of stone. The houses have seldom more 
than one room, besides which there are a small kitchen 
and an oven. The stable and other buildings belonging 
to a peasant's yard, are universally ill built, low and dirty. 
They keep their grain in pits ; and some sorts, particular- 
ly maize, in wicker baskets, suspended on a pole some 
feet above the ground, and protected by a lid of the same 
G 



74 



AUSTRIA. 



material, covered with straw. They pay Htlle attention to 
gardening, and besides a few vegetables irregularly plant- 
ed, nothing is to be found in their gardens but fruit-trees, 
which are left entirely to the care of nature. 

The internal arrangements of their houses are extreme- 
ly simple. The furniture consists of the family-bed, form- 
ed of straw, sacks and coverlets, or according to the cir- 
cumstances of the possessor, of feather-beds and bolsters, 
with covers ornamented with coloured stitch-work, which 
are objects of extraordinary luxury. Besides these arti- 
cles they have commonly a rude table, benches arranged 
round the room, and one or two wooden chests, adorned 
with rudely painted flowers, in which they keep their 
clothes and other valuables. Pitchers, plates and dishes 
are ranged or hung against the wall, together with pictures 
of Greek saints, before which lamps of coloured glass are 
sometimes suspended. The windows are very small, and 
the light is usually admitted through a piece of bladder in- 
stead of glass. 

Of all rural emyloyments, the Walachians are most at- 
tached to the rearing of cattle. Their natural indolence 
causes them to prefer this to all other occupations. All 
the changes of weather, and all the privations to which the 
life of a herdsman is subject, in distant and uninhabited 
countries, which he is forced to explore in order to lind 
good pasture for his cattle, are easily borne by the Wala- 
chian, whose bodily frame has been hardened from his 
childhood; and the exemption from labour, which he enjoys 
as he follows his herd, renders the difficulties he has to en- 
counter still less irksome. 

The Walachian cultivates the field or the vineyard only 
when the climate or other circumstances prevent him from 
attending to the breeding of cattle. The grain chiefly 
grown by him is maize, a principal article of diet in Hun- 
gary, because it is more productive than any other kind of 
corn. Still the produce of the fields and vineyard seldom 
exceeds his immediate wants ; while on the other hand, 
the Walachian cattle-breeders amass property. They have 
but little inclination for handicraft-business and the trades 
which are carried on in towns ; probably because in former 



AUSTRIA. 75 

times they were not suffered to become mfembers of any 
of the companies or guilds. This disabiHty was removed 
in 1S02, and much benefit is expected to result from this 
measure. 

The women spin and make the greater part of their own 
clothing and that of their families. A stranger, seeing a 
Walachian woman going to market with a basket of goods 
upon her head, and spinning with her distaff as she trudges 
along, would be apt to conceive a favourable idea of the 
industry of these people, which, however, is soon lost on 
a nearer acquaintance, particularly as it respects the men. 

The clothing of the Walachians varies in many points 
according to the district in which they reside ; but may 
generally be described as follows : — The summer dress of 
the men consists of a short coarse shirt with wide open 
sleeves, which reach partlyover the thighs and hang out- 
side of the trowsers. 

The latter, of coarse white woollen cloth, or in summer 
sometimes of linen, are very large and descend to the 
ankles. Round their feet they wrap rags, and over them 
put a piece of raw hide, bound on with thongs and thus 
fastened to the foot and leg above the ankle. Instead of 
these sandals, the more wealthy wear short boots reaching 
to the calf of the leg. Round the waist the shirt is bound 
by a leathern girdle, generally ornamented with brass but- 
tons, in which they carry a knife, a flint and steel, and a 
tobacco-pipe. Over the shirt is sometimes thrown a jack- 
et of coarse brown woollen cloth. They wear the hair 
short, suffering it to hang down a little way in the natural 
curls. None but old men, or such as from their situation 
or office are particularly entitled to respect, suffer the 
beard to grow. Among the common people this usually 
takes place after the age of forty, and such persons are dis- 
tinguished by the appellation of moschule, grandfather. 
The head is generally covered with a woollen or white 
cloth cap, or a low round hat ; but while the Walachian is 
in mourning he always goes bare-headed, be the weather 
what it may. He carries a knapsack, containing provi- 
sions and necessa\;ies, slung across the shoulders, and a 
£troD2 stick in his hand. 



76 AUSTRIA. 

The women wear along shirt reaching to the knees, and 
ornamented at the bosom and sleeves with coloured stitch- 
es. From a small girdle are suspended two aprons, one 
before and the other behind. These are somewhat short- 
er than the shirt, and are made of striped woollen cloth, 
bordered below with fringe. Over the shirt the bosom is 
often covered with a stomacher of cloth or leather. They 
also wear, particularly in winter, under their shirts, long 
wide drawers ; and in the mountain districts cover their 
feet with the sandals already described, but commonly 
wear boots in the plain. The girls have no covering on 
the head, but their hair is plaited in-lwuids, which are dis- 
posed cross-wise on the head, and fastened with pins. 
Married women wear head-dresses of white linen, and the 
richer part of them of muslin. 

The Walachian women are very fond of ornament. 
They paint their cheeks red, and this addition is deemed 
even by the poorest essential to beauty. They often co- 
lour the eyebrows black, and wear ear-rings of different 
kinds : but the chief ornament of the rich consists of seve- 
ral necklaces of silver or sometimes gold coins, instead of 
which the poor use base coins and glass beads, strung on 
threads and hung round the neck and breast. Their num- 
ber is indefinite, and they frequently reach quite to the gir- 
dle. The embroidery also upon their shirts and their many 
coloured aprons is esteemed by them an indispensable part 
of ornamental attire. 

Children of both sexes _wear in summer nothing but a 
long shirt reaching to the ankles. In winter they are sel- 
dom better clothed, and may be seen playing and leaping 
about in their shirts in the snow. At the age of six or 
seven years, they begin to dress like men and women. 

In winter the Walachian provides himself with a sheep- 
skin cloak with the wool turned inward, and having a fur 
cap instead of a hood ; or he throws over him a white or 
brown cloth mantle, which descends to the knees, and has 
a large hood to put over the head in bad weather. Under 
this cloak he wears his usual dress. The women like- 
wise wear sheep-skin cloaks with sleeves ; lined inside 
with wool and adorned outside with coloured patches and 



AUSTRIA. 77 

coarse embroidery, and held together in front by laces and 
buttons. 

The gipsy tribe is also very numerons in Transylvania. 
They may be divided into two classes, the itinerant and the 
stationary. The former having no fixed habitations, wan- 
der in summer and winter from one place to another. 
In summer they generally live in tents ; in winter in 
wretched huts of clay, or in holes which they excavate to 
the depth of a few feet in the declivity of the hills, and co- 
ver with branches, moss and turf, to protect themselves 
from the weather. It is easy to conceive how miserable 
the inside of one of these dwellings must appear. Air and 
light are almost wholly excluded ; and the only apartment 
is a cave, in the centre of which is a fire serving at the 
same time for warmth and cooking. Household and culi- 
nary utensils are scarcely to be expected. The inmates 
sit, eat and sleep on the bare ground, or at best lie on a 
heap of rags. On a fine winter day they open their cavern 
for a few hours to the sun ; but if the weather is cloudy 
they keep themselves shut up, nestle round the fire, cook 
and divide the food which chance or theft has placed at 
their disposal, and pass the remainder of the day in chat- 
ting and smoking, for the latter of which they have a par- 
ticular predilection. Men, women and even children 
know no greater happiness than to smoke tobacco out of 
a short pipe, or to chew a piece of the wooden pipe when 
it has been well impregnated with the essential oil of^ to- 
bacco. 

Their furniture seldom consists of more than an earthen 
pot, an iron pan, a spoon, a water-jug, a knife and some- 
times a dish. If the father is a smith, which is most fre- 
quently the case, he has a pair of small hand-bellows, a 
stone anvil, a pair of pincers and a couple of hammers. 
Add to this a knapsack, a few rags for clothing, a tattered 
tent, formed of a piece of coarse woollen cloth, and this 
is a complete inventory. But if he is so fortunate as to 
possess besides these an old foundered horse, he puts the 
whole establishment on its back, and thus rambles from 
place to place. 

The wandering gipsy is generally clothed in rags, and 
G 2 



78 AUSTRIA. 

the women are more remarkable, if possible, for their want 
of cleanhness than the men. Wrapped in their tattered 
garments, which scarcely suffice for decency, carrying 
their infants in a piece of cloth suspended from their shoul- 
ders, and driving before them the elder children, naked, or 
at most covered with a torn shirt, they visit in all their filth, 
particularly during fairs, the towns and villages, to dispose 
of the paltry produce of their labour, or rather under that 
pretext to exercise their skill in pilfering. Their stations 
are generally by the road side, where the naked children 
lie and beg ; or by following travellers, by tumbling and 
by locking the wheels of carriages, they obtain a tri- 
fle or seize an opportunity of purloining something. Their 
usual occupation is making coarse iron articles. Some 
cut spoons, shovels and little troughs out of wood ; others 
make brooms of twigs, weave baskets, and gather herbs, 
rushes, or juniper-berries. In this manner they contrive 
to gain a scanty subsistence, and if, after providing absolute 
necessaries, there is any surplus, it is expended in brandy 
of which they are very fond. 

The settled gipsies, who are termed JVeubauern, or new 
peasants, live much better than their wandering brethren. 
They reside in the outskirts of suburbs and villages, where 
they herd together, and their habitations contain a greater 
variety of conveniences than the dens described above. 
Their occupations are in general those of the wandering 
tribe. The greater part are smiths, and in spite of their 
imperfect apparatus they perform their work well. They 
visit also the neighbouring towns and villages to mend iron 
and copper utensils : others make a profession of music, 
and pass in companies from place to place. Some of them 
are tolerable performers, and collect large contributions 
from parties which amuse themselves with dancing and 
other festivities : others are engaged in mending shoes and 
in working in wood, or assist in agricultural occupations, 
in which, however, they are seldom industrious. They 
are usually employed as executioners, and in the business 
of flaying animals which have died a natural death. The 
women mostly trade in old clothes, in which the men assist 



AUSTRIA. ^g 

them ; or they levy a tax on the superstition of the peasan- 
try by fortune-telhng and pretensions to magic. Another 
occupation m which they are much engaged in Transylva- 
nia is gold-washing, in the many rivulets of the country 
which yield that metal. 



UNMARRIED FEMALE OF THOROCZKO. 

Thoroczko, pronounced Torotzko, is a vijlage in the 
county of Thorda, with an iron mine which is not wrought 
by means of regular shafts, but by passages cut in the 
side of the mountain. The inhabitants are Germans from 
btyria, who have settled here to work in the mine, but 
have ceased to speak their native language; ajid Hun^a- 
nans belonging to the Unitarian church. ° 

The females of this place are distinguished from their 
neighbours by their head-dress, by the singular and taste- 
ful embroidery on their chemises and corsets, by the red 
sash which encircles the waist, and by the peculiar man- 
ner in which they plait their petticoats. They wear occa- 
sionally a blue cloak, without arm-holes, plaited like the 
petticoat. 



UNMARRIED FEMALE OF OBERASCHA. 

The head-dress of the young female of Oberascha, or 
more correctly Obrasa, is composed of variegated ribbons 
which are fastened round the head, and the ends of which 
hang loose over the bosom and shoulders. Above each 
ear are generally fixed a couple of peacock's feathers. 
Round the neck she wears a fine sort of net-work to which 
are hung pieces of silver coin. The gown is adorned with 



80 AUSTRIA. 

embroidery on the shoulders. To the red sash which 
holds the black apron are attached several rings, probably 
tokens of love. Red boots complete her costume, the 
general appearance of which proclaims her a Walachian. 



A PEASANT OF OEERASCHA. 

The inhabitants of Oberascha and the environs, are dis- 
tinguished from other Walachians by the custom of wear- 
ing their hair tied in a club on the right side, and also by 
their tight pantaloons, and half-boots turned down at the 
top. The shirt, which the Walachians wear over the pan- 
taloons, is fastened on holidays round the waist by a varie- 
gated scarf and a leathern belt, decorated with a profusion 
of metal ^tuds, from which are suspended the tobacco- 
pouch, flint and steel. 



AN ARMED PLAJASH, 



GUARD OF THE FRONTIERS. 

In Transylvania, as well as throughout all Hungary, 
proper precautions are taken for the security of travellers 
against the attacks of banditti. The guards employed to 
patrole the roads for this purpose are called by different 
names in different parts of the kingdom. In Transylvania 
they are styled Plajashes, from the Walachian word Ptaja^ 
a foot-path, or road. The duty of these Plajashes is to 
escort travellers and goods over the mountains, which are 
frequently very unsafe : hence they always appear com- 
pletely armed. Their weapons consist of a musket, two 





Aa^ffED PLAJASHo 



AUSTRIA. 81 

large sharp knives or daggers, and the national buzogamj, 
or mace. They carry their ammunition, tobacco, mate- 
rials for striking a light and other articles attached to their 
belt. In other respects their dress resembles that of the 
Walachians, to whom they indeed belong. 

Upon the whole, there is scarcely any country in which 
travelling is safer than in Transylvania, because the inhabi- 
tants of every place are responsible for all the losses 
and injuries which travellers may sustain in its territory. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE BUKOWINA. 



TRANSFER OF THE COUNTRY TO AUSTRIA EXTENT POPU 

LATION COSTUMES. 

BuKOWiNA, formerly part of Moldavia, was subdued in 
1769 by the Russians, but restored to the Ottoman Porte 
at the peace concluded in 1774. In the same year Aus- 
tria took military possession of this province, and by the 
convention of the 12th of May, 1776, it was formally ceded 
to that power. It derives its name from the numerous 
forests of beech which it contains, that tree being called 
in the Slavonian language btik. Its greatest length is 
about 150 miles, and its extreme breadth 80. The soil is 
fertile, especially between the rivers Pruth and Dniester, 
and in the valley of Szucsawa ; and the mountainous parts 
are interspersed with rich and extensive pasture-grounds ; 
but on account of the early frosts and the long duration of 
the winter, the only crops that can be raised there are oats, 
barley, and potatoes. 

At the time of the occupation of this province by Aus- 
tria in 1776, it contained no more than eleven or twelve 



82 AUSTRIA. 

thousand families. The conscription of 1817 exhibited a 
total of nearly forty-two thousand famihes, and upwards of 
two hundred thousand souls. These are composed of 
Moldavians, or original inhabitants, Ruthenians, Germans, 
of whom there are eighteen colonies, Hungarians Ar- 
menians, Lipowanians, or Philippowanians, Gipsies and 
Jews. 



A BOYAR, 



GENTLEMAN OF THE BUKOWINA. 

In the Bukowina every gentleman or proprietor of land 
is called Boyar. The usual dress of this class is faithful- 
ly represented in the opposite plate. A long blue pehsse, 
with short sleeves, covers the under-garments, which con- 
sist of wide red trowsers, a blue striped shirt, and a broad 
belt, in which a knife is stuck, and from which hangs a 
handkerchief. The head is covered with a red Servian 
cloth cap. 

The Boyar here represented, is an inhabitant of the 
town of Szered ; he is supposed to have just quitted his 
house, and appears in a contemplative attitude. 



A PEASANT OF THE BUKOWINA. 

The usual costume of the peasants of the Bukowina, 
consists of white or red trowsers, a shirt, the wide, open 
sleeves of which are embroidered at the wrist, and over 
that an open waistcoat bordered with fur. With a pouch 
slung over his shoulder, and a long handled hatchet, 




3 0TAK of SEI^ETo 



AUSTRIA. S3 

which supphes the place of a stick, in his hand, he usually 
proceeds to his work in the fields and woods. 

According to the regulations of Gregory Gyka, prince 
of Moldavia, the holders of land are bound to labour twelve 
days in the year, and the holders of houses six days, for 
their lord, besides paying him the tithe of all their field- 
crops and fruit, and also of the produce of their gardens 
when they deal in such articles. According to ancient 
custom, every vassal holding grants of land gives, more- 
over, as a yearly acknowledgment, a hen, and a certain 
quantity of yarn ; and if he keeps a cart or wagon, he 
must carry home for his lord a load of wood from his forest, 
or if there be none on his domains, from that which lies 
nearest to them. 



WOMAN OF SZUCSAWICZA. 

SzucsAWiczA, pronounced Szutzawitza, is celebrated as 
the ancient residence of the princes of Moldavia. On a 
hill near the place are still to be seen the ruins of a strong 
castle which they inhabited. It seems to have been de- 
stroyed by violence, probably in one of the frequent incur- 
sions of the Turks and Poles into this province. Whe- 
ther the destruction of this castle, or as some assert, the 
commands of the Porte, caused the princes of Moldavia 
to change their place of abode, w^e shall not pretend to de- 
termine. So much at any rate is certain, that, till the 
middle of the sixteenth century, the Woywodes or PIospo- 
dars of Moldavia resided at Szucsawicza; and conse- 
quently it was not till the latter half of that century that 
they removed from this place to Yassy. 

On a gentle eminence near the town there is a convent 
of monks of St. Basil, belonging to the not united Greek 
church, which, in regard to the number of its members, 
predominates in the Bukowina. This edifice stands in a 
dreary, melancholy country, and makes an extraordinary 
impression on the traveller with its numerous towers, 



84 AUSTRIA. 

crosses, and bells, and the paintings on the outside of the 
church. It is surrounded by walls and towers, as a de- 
fence against sudden attacks of banditti; and owes its ex- 
istence to the pious donations of several Moldavian princes 
who are interred in it. 

The women of Szucsawicza wrap a handkerchief about 
the head, and wear trowsers, slippers turned up at the toe, 
and a jacket bordered with fur in the Greek fashion. In 
their manners and customs these people closely resemble 
the Moldavians. 



UNMARRIEp FEMALE OF JAKOBENT. 

Jakobeny is a place situated in the mountains and inha- 
bited by miners. The females of the lower class here as 
every where else, are fond of finery. To the decorations 
of their persons belong indispensably numerous necklaces 
and other ornaments made of beads, coins, crosses, rich 
embroidery, and in summer fresh flowers and sprigs of plants 
for their hair. The gown is coloured and striped, and a 
red sash encircles the waist. 

The engraving represents an unmarried female; the dress 
of the married woman is destitute alike of ornament and 
taste. The coarse gown is commonly of a dark colour 
with blue stripes, and in cold weather they wear over it a 
loose shapeless brown coat. 



FEMALE PEASANTS OF PHILIPPOWAN. 

We have already observed that the Lipowanians, or 
Philippowanians, form a particular class of the inhabitants 
of Bukowina. They belong to the Russian Raskolniks, 
and to the not united Greek church. They removed 
about the year 1785, from the Black Sea into the Buko- 





ITETMAI^RIKB jFEMALjE o£ JAClitOBEIS&o 




JTEMAJLIB PEASANTS of ni]IlIL,]LIPFO^WA]K"o 



AUSTRIA. 85 

wina, and obtained of the emperor Joseph II. the free ex- 
ercise of their rehgion. They are a peaceable, industrious 
and active people, addicted to agriculture, and partly sub- 
sist by the sale of fresh and dried fruit, fish, and cordage 
of their own manufacture. They are extremely skilful in 
draining wet, marshy lands, inhabit three villages, and are 
among the different sects of the eastern church what the 
Moravians are among the Protestants. 

The appearance of the Philippowanians produces an 
agreeable impression on the stranger. They are in 
general tall and well-shaped, and both sexes usually wear 
long cloth coats carefully buttoned from top to bottom. 
The women have stiff caps over which they tie a large 
handkerchief. A bandeau embroidered with gold encir- 
cles the forehead. The gown, without sleeves, is either 
green or red, bound round the waist with d sash, and the 
feet are covered with red or yellow buskins. The an- 
nexed engraving represents two females of this district, 
and displays the front and back of their rich dress, which 
bears a strong affinity to the Ottoman costume ; the only 
features seemingly peculiar to the subjects before us being 
the ornamented shift sleeves. 

The Lipowanians have but little intercourse with the 
other inhabitants of the country : at least, if they can help 
it they will not admit strangers into their habitations. 
Should a person, nevertheless, have obtained access 
through accident or against their will, they consider the 
spot where he has sat or stood as contaminated till they 
have purified it in their own way. They never eat with 
any stranger. They have particular plates, vessels, and 
utensils for guests, and when they entertain a person they 
press him to eat all that is set before him, or throw away 
what is left. They are forbidden to use tobacco and snufT, 
and suffer no inn or public house to be kept among them. 

It is surprising with what care these people keep both 
the ceremonies and the doctrines of their religion pro- 
foundly secret. They have no priests but only a teacher 
called daskal: they acknowledge the authority of no orien- 
tal ecclesiastic, but profess to belong to a church of their 
H 



Se AUSTRIA. 

sect in Moldavia, where all their marriages are solemnized. 
No traces of burial-grounds are to be found among them, 
and hence it is conjectured that they burn their dead. 
Their churches in Moldavia are in all respects like the 
other churches of the East, excepting that they are sur- 
mounted by three triple crosses, the lowest cross-bar of 
which is placed in an obhque direction. 

The Philippowanians are said to have derived their 
name from one Philip, who was first servitor in a Russian 
convent, then became a monk, and aspired to the rank of 
superior. Being disappointed in this scheme, he accused 
his brethren of having swerved from the ancient faith ; and 
having made proselytes of about fifty of his colleages, he 
seceded from the convent, built another, and thus became 
the founder of a new sect. 



i 



CHAPTEPt XIII. 



THE MILITARY FRONTIERS. 

MILITARY CONSTITUTION CARLSTADT FRONTIER BANAL 

FRONTIER SLAVONIA BANAT FRONTIER. 

The border of the Austrian empire from Povile on the 
coast of the Adriatic Sea to the Northern frontiers of Dal- 
matia, and thence through Croatia, Slavonia, the Banat 
and Transylvania, to Bukowina, has a military constitu- 
tion peculiar to itself. In this tract, containing nearly a 
million of inhabitants, the men capable of bearing arms 
must always hold themselves in readiness to abandon the 
plough and home, for the purpose of averting the dangers 
with wich they are threatened by rapacious neighbours, or 
by commodities impregnated with pestilence. 

The inhabitant of the frontiers, at once a husbandman 



AUSTRIA. 87 

and a soldier, holds his lands on condition of taking up 
arms when required. In Transylvania he is the absolute 
proprietor of the ground he cultivates : in the Banat, Sla- 
vonia and Croatia, he is bound by certain restrictions 
somewhat like those of the feudal tenures of old, without 
however being obstructed in the enjoyment of the fruits of 
his industry. 

The perfidy of nn individual draws down punishment on 
himself alone : his family still retains its right to the pos- 
session of his lands, and this right also devolves to females 
when they marry of their own choice, and continue to re- 
side upon them; nay even when there is not a male left 
in the house capable of bearing arms, still the land is not 
taken away. 

As all the males capable of bearing arms are not called 
out at once, and every house cannot furnish the number 
proportioned to the land belonging to it, some other 
method of equalizing the burdens has been found neces- 
sary. To this end a moderate tax is levied upon the land, 
and from this fund a certain allowance is made to each 
person while in actual service. Towards the repairing and 
keeping up of the public works, such as buildings, roads 
and the like, each inhabitant of the frontiers performs gratu- 
itously a certain quantity of labour proportionate to the ex- 
tent of his land. 

Agriculture and the breeding of cattle are the principal 
resources of the inhabitants of the frontiers. In order 
that the most necessary trades may not be wanting, par- 
ticular places are appointed where the mechanic, artist, 
tradesman and merchant may exercise their respective pro- 
fessions without being subject to military duty. These 
places are called military communities, and have regular 
municipal institutions like other towns. 

The rest of (he frontier territory is divided into regimen- 
tal districts, of which seventeen are appropriated to infant- 
ry, one to cavalry, and one to the Pontoneers or Water- 
men. Each regimental district contains on an average 
from forty to fifty thousand souls. Out of the males fit 
for service in each district two battalions are formed in 
time of peace. The house to which each man on duty 



88 AUSTHIA. 

belongs, furnishes him with food and clothing, and the 
state with arms and ammunition. In peace his chief occu- 
pation consists in protecting the frontiers from the incur- 
sions of the Turks, the depredations of banditti, and the 
introduction of the plague and contraband goods. 

These men are stationed in watch-houses partly of ma- 
sonry and partly elevated on high poles, which are erected 
along the whole frontier at such moderate distances that 
one post can alarm and assist the other in case of emer- 
gency. This chain of posts is strengthened, when the 
danger of attack or of infection by the plague becomes 
more imminent. 



CARLSTADT FRONTIER. 

THE VICE-HAEAM-BASSA OF THE SZERESSANS. 

Besides the frontier cordon there is in the Carlstadt and 
Banal frontier a chosen band of clever, trusty, and tried 
guards called by the ancient appellation of Szeressans. 
They go according to circumstances either singly or in 
companies, on foot or on horseback to discover the most se- 
cret plans and stratagems of their rapacious Turkish neigh- 
bours, which they seldom fail to counteract and frustrate, 
and are particularly ingenious in the discovery of concealed 
plunder. 

The chief of these Szeressans is styled Haram-Bassa. 
When fully equipped, he wears a sort of red uniform coat 
and waistcoat, blue pantaloons, and a sharp-pointed cap 
of green cloth, turned up with a red and white striped 
stuff. His arms consist of a musquet, with which he hits 
his man with never failing certainty at the distance of three 
hundred paces, a pair of pistols for nearer objects, a Turk- 
ish knife and a sword for close quarters ; and on busy 
days there is none of these weapons perhaps but what he 
employs. In bad weather a wide red mantle with a hood 
covers both his person and his arms. 




TAT^ASETA. IDOROjriEVICliL 
HJH0M-BA8SA OF THE SEEISCHAUS. 



AUSTRIA. 89 

The second in command, called Vice-Haram-Bassa, is 
represented in the annexed plate. He is armed hke his 
superior, but appears here in his ordinary dress. His pipe 
is his constant companion. His horse, with his red mantle 
thrown carelessly over the saddle when he dismounts, is 
his constant companion and grazes by his side. The 
horse in this country is seldom allowed a feed of oats ; 
grass in summer and hay in winter constitute the whole of 
his subsistence. But little attention is paid to him in 
other respects, nay more frequently the horse is teased 
and ill used by his master; hence he is generally unsteady 
and shy, and a stranger must use great caution in riding 
him. These animals are small, hardy, and sure-footed, 
and are extremely useful for carrying moderate loads over 
the mountains, and for riding in steep, rugged, and scarcely 
beaten roads. They have their own pace wliich the rider 
must let them pursue, or he is more likely to be dis- 
mounted than to make them stir from the spot. 

In the mountains of Croatia the horses are seldom em- 
ployed for draught ; and it is at the risk of life or goods 
that they are harnessed to any vehicle. If, however, by 
coaxing, this point has been accomplished, and the driver 
has set them a-going, he cannot answer for their proceed- 
ing. Each pulls a different way ; the rotten harness, 
perhaps, botched together at the moment when it is 
wanted, snaps at the least strain ; the drivers, generally as 
numerous as the horses, are as far from agreeing as the 
latter. The utmost confusion of course arises on the least 
accident. The men invoke all the saints and all the devils 
to their assistance : in the most fortunate event, the vehicle 
is left behind, but more commonly it is broken to pieces. 
Whoever, therefore, values a whole skin will do well not 
to trust himself in this mountainous region to any vehicle 
without the greatest precaution. On the high road from 
Carlstadt to Zeng the traveller will find horses trained to 
draw, but not in the by-roads in the interior of the 
country. 

In their manners and way of life, as well as in their 
clothing and arms, the people of the frontiers hold an in- 
H2 



90 AUSTRIA. 

termediate place between the Oriental and the European. 
The husbandman goes out armed to his agricultural 
labours, and with trembhng he commits the seed to the 
bosom of the earth. Unless he keeps constantly on the 
watch the green corn is either cut down or fed off; and 
when the farmer has reaped his scanty crop he is fre- 
quently obliged to fight his way home with it. 

In winter the frontiers are more safe, and the duty of 
guarding them is less arduous than in summer. The foot- 
marks in the snow betray the retreat of the robber, and 
there is no friendly thicket to shelter him : he is therefore 
not very willing to venture forth amid tempests and intense 
cold for the sake of a precarious and uncertain gain. On 
the other hand, the inclemency of the weather renders the 
service of the frontier posts more severe. Nothing but 
the iron constitutions of these men could withstand the in- 
cessant changes of temperature. One day perhaps a 
furious north or north-east wind brings snow, covers all 
the roads and freezes every hmb : the next an equally tem- 
pestuous south-east, produces a thaw and suddenly inun- 
dates the country. The houses, slight and unsubstantial, 
suffer from both, and the roofs and out-buildings are de- 
stroyed by the fury of the storm. 

Amid these incessant changes, the winter in these ele- 
vated regions is unhealthy and destructive. When the 
storm keeps all inhabitants closely imprisoned in the 
smoky huts, the frontier-man on duty at his post, fre- 
quently receives a visit from a hungry wolf prowling about 
in quest of prey. Thus engaged in an incessant conflict 
with a rude nature and savage neighbours, is it surprising 
that these people should have advanced no farther than a 
half-civilized state ! 



UNMARRIED TEMAXE OF THE DRAGATHAX. 

The features and dress of the unmarried female of the 
Dragathal belong to Italy ; but the Croat and the Wende 



AUSTRIA. 9J 

are here mingled with the ItaHan. Language, mannersj 
and costume indicate the intermixture of nations between 
Trieste and Zeng, and exhibit in visible gradations the 
transition from one to another. 

The districts of the regiments of Licca and Ottochacz 
are intersected by bare, craggy mountains, which form a 
broken elevated tract not unlike in appearance to the 
deserts of South Africa. These mountains consist chiefly 
of chalk, naked and rugged at the top, and bearing lower 
down a scanty vegetation. The valleys and plains are 
covered with a thin layer of mould, but are in part as 
dreary as the mountains which surround them. 

The elevated situation, the vicinity of the sea, and the 
want of wood, expose this country to the fury of the tem- 
pests and to all the caprices of the weather. For weeks 
together bleak north and north-east winds prevail ; all at 
once they change to milder, but equally violent gales from 
the south and south-east. As the temperature suddenly 
varies with the change of the wind, from the most intense 
cold to thaw, or a mild day is succeeded by a frosty night, 
so also the falls of rain or snow are generally sudden and 
excessive. 

In these parts the cottages must be built low, and the 
nearly flat roof of boards, fastened with long projecting 
wooden pins, must be farther secured by very heavy 
stones — a precaution employed for the same reason among 
the mountains of Switzerland. The soil must never be 
lightened for the reception of the seed, otherwise it would 
scarcely fail to be blown away like dust. The poor, shal- 
low, hard ground therefore can scarcely be expected to 
produce good crops ; and such as it does bear are exposed 
to other dangers before they attain maturity. Millet, the 
favourite grain of the husbandman, is frequently cut off" by 
a single frost in the beginning of September. 

Under such circumstances, the fruitful and middling 
years could not make amends for the unfavourable seasons 
even to an industrious people, and much less to the in- 
habitants of these frontiers, who are apt to consider 
labour as not belonging to their vocation. The govern- 
ment is in consequence freq^uently obliged to step in t© 



92 AUSTRIA. 

their relief, and to save them by abundant supplies from 
starvation. 

Regularity and perseverance afe not virtues of these 
people. Like men in a state of nature they are fond of 
variety and of extremes. Military service, hunting, the 
transport of wares on horses, and traffic on the cordon are 
occupations which they like : domestic and agricultural 
employments are too tedious and quiet, and these there- 
fore in general fall to the share of the women. 

If, however, one of these men goes out at all to the 
fields, he first chats away some hours by the side of the 
fire in the middle of the floor ; and when he is urged to re- 
pair to his work, he coolly replies, that a wise man never 
leaves his house till the sun is over his fields. He is re- 
miss at every kind of labour ; whether he is using the hoe, 
the axe, the trowel, or the spade, he handles it as though 
he were afraid of hurting the implement. To him work 
is worse than severe want. The wife on the other hand 
is incessantly employed. All the apparel worn by herself, 
her husband, and her children, is, with some trifling excep- 
tions, her own work. She spins, dyes, and weaves the 
linen and woollen stuffs for this purpose, and makes them 
up into garments, besides washing and attending to her 
house and kitchen. The shoes alone, made of untanned 
hide, are the work of the man. Hard labour and early 
marriages cause the women to lose all the charms of youth 
much sooner than in many other countries. 

The character of the country from Trieste to Zara is 
uniformly the sam.e. The width of the plain, which inter- 
venes between the sea and the range of naked mountains, 
alone distinguishes the nature of the country in this long 
tract, and determines the degree of vegetation peculiar to 
each spot. The Draga of the Fiume is destitute of the 
majesty of wood, and of the refreshing verdure of exten- 
sive pasturages. The olive, the fig-tree and the vine in- 
deed here furnish their valuable fruit, but they confer 
neither affluence nor the appearance of it. 




ITH'MxlJRRIEID TFEIkHAJLE of OTT © (TELfis^C; 



AUSTRIA. 93 



UNMARRIED FEMALE OF OTTOCHACZ. 

The annexed plate represents an unmarried female of 
Ottochacz. She wears a long open jacket without sleeves, 
neatly embroidered on the edges, and her hair, carefully 
plaited in tresses, is covered with a cap of red cloth. The 
apron universally exhibits a variety of gay colours. Married 
women are distinguished from virgins by wearing one of 
these aprons behind as well as before, and a large cloth 
resembling a mantle over the head and shoulders. 

In Upper Croatia, in the county of Warasdin, for exam- 
ple, the dress of the women considerably resembles the 
above, but is more elegant. On the head is placed a large 
square of white linen, forming a roll in front, one fold fall- 
ing over the back and two lying on the shoulders. The 
margins are adorned with borders of coarse lace two or 
three inches deep. The vest is of woollen cloth, fitted to 
the body, without sleeves, and descending below the knees, 
where it is trimmed with a few coloured stripes, generally 
red and bordered by fringe or lace. The white shift-sleeves 
hang large and loose, and are likewise ornamented with 
coarse lace. The vest is of two kinds, either opening on 
the sides or before, so as to display the laced front of a 
bodice held together by clasps, formed of bunches of co- 
loured glass beads. Below the vest about two inches of 
a white petticoat appear, and below this another petticoat 
neatly plaited; and beneath all, boots either of black or yel- 
low leather. They likewise wear coarse linen shawls folded 
round their shoulders and arms. 



BANAL FRONTIER. 



The districts of the two Banal regiments are situated 
on the decline of the mountains into the plain. They pre- 
sent a great diversity of ground and scenery. Consider- 



AUSTRIA. 

able forests, beautiful valleys, and extensive pastures 
succeed each other ; and notwithstanding the change of 
country, the character of the inhabitants remains the same. 

The indigence and want of activity prevailing among 
the people of these districts has been ascribed, and not un- 
justly, to the excessive magnitude of the houses. The 
village of Boroevich was formerly at least inhabited almost 
exclusively by the family after which it was named, and 
there were houses which contained from fifty to one hun- 
dred inmates. Such houses furnished many men for the 
service, but at the same time tliey were nurseries of dis- 
content and crimes. 

Before the division of families was authorized by law, 
the father of each with his immediate offspring remained 
in the original habitation. On the marriage of any of his 
descendants, the new couple built themselves a tenement 
contiguous and a chamber without a window. Here they 
slept and deposited what belonged to them exclusively. 
The father still retained and managed the general property. 
In his house were the common fire and table for the whole 
family, no individual bemg allowed to cook for himself. 
This separation, however, promoted neither peace nor 
prosperity : the law therefore interfered and fixed the prin- 
ciples for the partition of too large family-communities. 
Time will soon show how much the industry and morality 
of these people have been improved by this measure, with- 
out any prejudice to the service. 



UNMAKRIED FEMALE OF GLINA. 

In the annexed representation of a young female of 
GHna, we again observe the red cap, but of a different 
form from that shown in the last engraving. In this instance 
it merely covers the crown of the head, the hair of which 
is tressed on each side and turned up behind. The 
tresses are frequently adorned with shells, metal rings, 
and other trinkets, and the costume in general resembles 
in cut and fashion that of the upper frontiers. 




mi^MAISRIBE) FEMAIiE of (&]LIB"A-c 



AUSTRIA. 95 



WOMAN OF DrBlTZA. 

False tresses, hanging down low and covered with a 
handkerchief, give a pecuhar character to the head-dress 
of the women in the environs of Dubitza. The apron is 
fastened on by a belt decorated with coins ; the wide, open 
sleeves of the chemise are neatly bordered with embroidery, 
and over it is worn a long open jacket. 

The river Unna here forms the boundary between the 
Turkish and Austrian empires. The decayed fortress of 
Dubitza itself, on the right bank of that river, belongs to 
the former. Nature has rendered the valley watered by 
the Unna one of the most fertile and delightful of the 
abodes of man. The hills gently rise on each bank of the 
river, which has a strong navigable current, and vegetation 
finds a rich soil to their very tops. The cHmate too is 
mild ; but man is the only obstacle to the improvement of 
these advantages. The Turks and Turkish subjects in 
this valley have long been reckoned the most pestilent dis- 
turbers of the tranquillity of their neighbours. Being eter- 
nally at variance among themselves, it is not surprising 
that they should annoy the inhabitants of the Austrian 
frontiers. 



SLAVONIA. 

In many parts of the Banal frontier the country and its 
inhabitants strongly remind the spectator of the upper re- 
gimental districts, but the scene is totally changed on enter- 
ing Slavonia. These frontiers are marked by great rivers 
and by sandy and muddy marsh-land. Here the husband- 
man does not dread the fury of tempests, but the inundation 
of waters. The genial warmth of a climate more than 
mild produces a profusion of the finest fruits. The soil 
supplies man with abundance of corn and wine, and animals 



95 AUSTRIA. 

with rich herbage. The very forests support besides 
various species of game hundreds of thousands of mon- 
strous swine, great numbers of which are sent to the 
capital, and thus contribute not only to the subsistence but 
to the opulence of the inhabitants. The river Save, which 
forms the southern boundary of the country, and facilitates 
commercial communication, protects the Slavonian from 
the incursions of his predatory neighbours better than for- 
tifications and sentinels. What nature affords and in- 
dustry acquires, he therefore enjoys in peace and security. 
He is in consequence much more civilized and assiduous 
than his neighbours on the western frontiers ; his dress is 
neater, his food and implements are superior, his cattle 
are better treated and better fed ; in short every thing 
about him denotes greater affluence. 

For the sake of greater security, and to accelerate civiU- 
zation, the scattered houses were collected into villages 
upon the road. The inhabitants now enjoy in peace the 
benefit of this regulation ; and the traveller blesses that 
power, which commanded the roads to be planted witli 
trees which, while they afford him a refreshing shade from 
the intense heat, supply the inhabitants with food for the 
lucrative silk-worm. 

Attempts have been made in other parts of Hungary to 
rear this insect, and with considerable success, owing 
to the encouragement afforded by government. The 
greatest yearly produce was in ISOl, when the royal silk- 
establishments yielded about eighteen thousand pounds 
weight, and those of private individuals about three thou- 
sand. By far the greater part comes from the military 
frontiers. 



CLEMENTINIAir WOMEN. 



At the beginning of the last century emigrants from 
Bosnia, calling themselves Clementinians, settled in the 
villages of Hertkovze and Nikinze in the Peterwardein 



AUSTRIA. 97 

regiment. Their earlier history and the origin of their 
name are involved in obscurity : but so much is certain, 
that their ancestors migrated thither from Albania, and 
were there converted to the Catholic religion. They dif- 
fer from their neighbours in language, customs, religious 
ceremonies, way of life and physiognomy. 

The frontispiece to this volume represents females be- 
longing to this tribe. The figure in the middle exhibits a 
bride in her wedding attire : on her left stands one of her 
companions in her usual holiday apparel : and both are 
listening attentively to the instructions of the industrious 
housewife on the left of the print. From the coronet of 
feathers which adorn the head of the bride, and reminds us 
of the natives of Guinea and Mexico, to the neat slipper of 
fish-skin which covers the foot, all is of native material 
and workmanship. The women spin, weave, dye, and 
make all their apparel and personal ornaments with peculiar 
neatness. They attend with truly commendable assiduity to 
the household concerns, while the men till the ground. Dis- 
tinguished by purer morals, and therefore more highly 
respected, they consider it beneath them to mingle their 
blood with that of the other inhabitants of the frontiers ; 
but conduct themselves invariably as a peaceable tribe 
among unsettled and turbulent neighbours. 



BAN AT FRONTIER. 

The sandy surface of that part of the Banat which lies 
between the Danube and the Lower Nera, is very little 
elevated above the level of those rivers, by which, when 
they are swollen, it is in a great measure inundated. In 
the south-east corner of the German Banat regiment, the 
loose sand is drifted into moving hills. It has not unfre- 
quently buried fields and houses, and occasioned the 
gradual desertion of whole villages; but by judicious plan- 
tations it is now confined within narrower limits. One of 
the most fertile of tracts, the granary of the frontiers, is 
thus enclosed between dry sand and morasses. A motlej 

I 



98 AUSTRIA. 

mixture of settlers, Germans, Hungarians, Slavonians of 
various tribes, and Walachians, live together in a small 
district of the German Banat regiment, and mostly retain 
the language, costume, manners and way of life of their 
respective ancestors. 



PEASANT OF THE BANAT FRONTIER. 

The coat and pantaloons of the Walachian, the original 
native of the country, in his holiday dress, are of white 
cloth, the ornaments being neatly worked by the women 
in coloured worsted. In fashion this dress resembles the 
costume of his progenitors, the ancient Dacians, as de- 
lineated on Trajan's pillar. The head is covered either 
with a round hat, or the still more ancient sheep-skin 
cap. 

The Walachian styles himself a Roman in his language, 
which is a medley of corrupt Latin and Illyrian ; but it is 
very rarely that Roman valour can be discovered in him. 
He dislikes the military profession, and it is very long be- 
fore he becomes habituated to its hardships: but yet none 
endures with greater fortitude, sufferings and privations 
which cannot be avoided. His wants are very moderate. 
He cheerfully and thoughtlessly consumes what he has as 
long as it lasts, and afterwards fasts with exemplary resig- 
nation. He does not always duly respect the property of 
others, but cheerfully shares what he possesses with those 
who need relief. 



WOMAN OF THE BANAT. 



The Walachian women, like those of Croatia, being 
obliged to perform the operatiDns of agriculture as well as 
to attend to the domestic concerns, lose at an early age all 
traces of beauty. Those of the pleasant valley of Saska, 
are distinguished by more polished manners, a more 



AUSTRIA. 99 

healthy look, and superior cleanliness and neatness in 
dress, from the inhabitants of the plains. 

In the mountains contiguous to this valley are copper- 
mines wrought by German settlers, the example of whose 
industry and consequent comforts has not been wholly lost 
on their Walachian neighbours. 

The head-dress, somewhat resembling a soldier's cap, 
and the two aprons, one before and the other behind, dis- 
tinguish the matron from the unmarried female. In addi- 
tion to all her other occupations, the wife is obliged to take 
her infant children with her wherever she goes, whether 
to her work in the fields, to church, or to visit a neighbour. 
The infant is laid in a low open box, to which are attached 
cords, by means of which it is slung over the shoulder of 
the mother. 

If a tree happens to be near, the box is suspended from 
it by the cords, and the infant swings as in a hammock, 
while the mother does her work in the fields. 

The house, built of wood and earth, affords but scanty 
room for the family of the Walachian and the young cattle 
which lodge under the same roof. He was formerly an 
utter stranger to stables, barns, and granaries. Like the 
Tartar, when his old situation no longer suited him, he 
drove his cattle farther, packed up his habitation and his 
furniture and utensils, and fixed his abode in another place. 
Pains were long taken to excite in him a taste for more 
solid and spacious dwelhngs, in the hope of habituating 
him to a permanent residence and its advantages ; and 
they have not been unsuccessful. In the upper valley of 
the Nera and of the Almasch, on the woody hills bordering 
which the Walachian long roved about for the sake of the 
pasturage they afforded, are now to be seen regular villa- 
ges, with houses of masonry, barns and stables. 

The cultivation of corn and the breeding of cattle are 
almost the only resources of their inhabitants. The peo- 
ple of the Almasch, however, pursue another occupation 
of a pecuhar kind, that is,^the feeding of snails, which they 
collect in the woods in spring, keeping them in particular 
spots in their gardens surrounded with ditches till winter, 
and then selling them. They are known far and near by 
the name of Caransebes snails. 



100 AUSTRIA. 

Dr. Bright saw at Keszthely a pen for snails, which are 
in request in Hungary as well as in Germany, as an arti- 
cle of food. This pen was formed by boards two feet high, 
the upper edge of which was spiked with nails an inch 
long and half an inch asunder. This barrier the animals 
never attempt to pass. The snail, the helix pomatia, is in 
great demand at Vienna, where sacks of them are regularly 
exposed in the market for sale. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



GALICIA; OR AUSTRIAN POLAND. 

EXTENT AND NATURE OP THE COUNTRY BENEFITS RE- 
SULTING TO THE PEOPLE FROM THE PARTITION OP 

POLAND CRUELTY AND INJUSTICE OF THE ANCIENT 

SYSTEM SUPERIOR DEGREE OF SECURITY ENJOYED UN- 
DER THE AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT MODE OF BUILDING 

APPEARANCE OF A POLISH VILLAGE INNS JEWS 

UNCLEANLINESS OF THE POLES 

The kingdom of Galicia is that part of Poland which, 
on the partition of that monarchy among its more powerful 
neighbours, fell to the share of the house of Austria. It 
contains upwards of fifteen hundred German square miles, 
and not far short of four millions of inhabitants. 

The country chiefly consists of a sandy plain situated 
at the northern foot of the lofty mountains which separate 
it from Hungary, Transylvania and the Bukowina by one 
of their secondary ramifications. The soil of the plains 
of Galicia is nevertheless more irregular than that of Hun- 
gary. It is infinitely diversified by hills of no great eleva- 
tion, but in some parts of extremp fertility. 

Much as it has been the fashion to deplore the " fatal 
partition" of Poland, and to execrate the powers concern' 
ed in it, we have now the satisfaction to know that to the 



AUSTRIA. iQi 

Poles themselves this measure has proved one of the great- 
est blessings. Every individual has gained by it, except- 
ing a few selfish, pampered magnats, who abused their 
overgrown power, snd inflicted perpetual misery on the 
serfs whom Providence had subjected to their rule. 

If ever there was a country where " might constituted 
right," that country was Poland. The most dreadful op- 
pression, the most execrable tyranny, and the most wan- 
ton cruelties, were daily exercised by the nobles on their 
unfortunate peasants. Dr. Neale in his Travels adduces 
a few facts which prove but too clearly their miserable con- 
dition. 

The life of a peasant was held of no greater value than 
that of one of his horned cattle ; and if his lord killed him 
he was merely fined a hundred Polish florins, or two 
pounds sixteen shillings of our money. If, on the contrary, 
a man of low birth presumed to raise his hand against a 
nobleman, death was the inevitable punishment. If any 
one dared to question the nobility of a magnat, he was re- 
quired to prove his assertion, or doomed to die : nay, if 
a powerful man took a fancy to the field of his humbler 
neighbour and erected a land- mark upon it, and if that 
land-mark remained three days, the poor man lost his pos- 
session. 

The atrocious cruelties habitually exercised almost ex- 
ceed credibility. A Masalki caused his hounds to devour 
a peasant who chanced to fright his horse; a Radzivilhad 
the belly of one of his serfs ripped open, that he might 
thrust his feet into it, in the hope of being cured of a mala- 
dy with which he was afflicted. StiU there were laws in 
Poland, but how were they executed ? A peasant, going 
to the market at Warsaw, met a man who had just assas- 
sinated another : he seized the murderer, bound him, and 
having placed him in his wagon together with the body 
of his victim, he went to deliver him up to the nearest 
Starost. On his arrival, he was asked if he had ten ducats 
to pay for his interference, and on his answering in the ne- 
gative, he was sent back with his dead and living lumber. 
After this fact, the reader will not be surprised to learn, 
that it cost a merchant of Warsaw fourteen hundred dol- 
I 2 



102 AUSTRIA. 

lars to prosecute to conviction and execution two robbers 
who had plundered him. 

To this injustice were joined the most barbarous igno- 
rance and superstition. In 1781, the Starost Potocki, in 
passing through a village, learned that on the following 
day, a person accused of sorcery was to be burned alive. 
He examined the accused, inquired the hour at which the 
execution was to take place, and returned home to make 
preparation for preventing this legal murder, by carrying 
off the prisoner when on his way to the stake. The ma- 
gistrates of the village received intimation of his design, 
and hastened the execuUon, so that when Potocki arrived, 
he had the mortification to find that the man had already 
been sacrificed. 

Nor were this ignorance and this superstition confined 
to any particular class or order : in these respects people 
of the highest rank were perfectly on a level with the mean- 
est serfs. A Polish baroness who had gained notoriety 
both at home and in France by her spirit of intrigue and 
the wit of her correspondence, was in the habit of burning 
frankincense and sprinkhng her apartments with holy wa- 
ter whenever a thunder storm approached her castle. — 
One day, when in spite of these pious precautions the 
lightning struck and threw down her chimneys, she had 
recourse to an expedient which she regarded as infallible, 
namely, the burying round her house thirty copies of the 
Gospel of St. John ; a custom still piously practised on 
Christmas-day in all the churches in IPoland. 

The morals of the people, were then, as they still con- 
tinue to be, nearly at the lowest point of debasement. Fe- 
male chastity is a virtue unknown in Poland. Among 
persons of all ranks, from the highest to the lowest, with 
very few exceptions, the most dreadful licentiousness pre- 
vails. The men are equally profligate ; and debauchery of 
every kind prevails among them to a degree unknown in 
other countries of Europe. Education is in general much 
neglected, the lower classes being unable to obtain the 
means of instruction : and among the higher, where no man 
is assured of the legitimacy of his offspring, a total indiffe- 
rence prevails as to the training of the doubtful brood. 



AUSTRIA. 103 

They are therefore neglected from their cradles, and left 
to the indulgence of every passion, undisciplined, untutor- 
ed and uncontrolled. Endowed by nature with great per- 
sonal beauty, the young Polish noble makes the tour of 
France and Germany, engrafts the vices of every capital 
that he visits on his own native stock ; and after dilapidat- 
ing his revenues returns to his paternal estate with a train 
of French cooks, valets, parasites and all the parapherna- 
lia of modern luxury, to wallow in sensuahty, and to die 
prematurely of acquired disease. 

Such is the picture of the Poles drawn by Dr. Neale, 
who adds two facts tending to show the superior degree 
of security enjoyed by the humbler classes under the 
Austrian government to that afforded them while under the 
Polish sceptre. 

During the reign of Stanislaus Poniatowsky, a petty no- 
ble having refused to resign his small estate to Count 
Thisenhaus, the latter invited him to dinner as if desirous 
of adjusting the affair in an amicable manner. While the 
knight, elated at such an unexpected honour, was assidu- 
ously plying the bottle, the count despatched some hun- 
dreds of peasants with axes, ploughs and wagons, order- 
ing the village, which consisted only of a few small wood- 
en buildings, to be pulled down, the materials carried 
away, and the plough passed over the ground which the 
village had occupied. This was accordingly done. The 
nobleman, on his return home in the evening, could not 
find either road, house or village. The master and his 
servant were alike bewildered, and knew not whether they 
were dreaming or had lost the power of discrimination : 
but their suprise and agony were deemed so truly humour- 
ous, that the whole court was delighted with the joke. 

As a contrast to this story, related on the authority of 
Baron Uklanski, himself a Pole, the reader is presented 
with the following fact, which happened in Galicia, after 
the cruel partition : — 

A peasant with his wife and children, belonging to the 
estate of jthe Starost Bleski, having fled into Austrian 
Poland, the Starost assembled a party of horsemen and 
carried off hi? serf, inflicted on him a hundred stripes and 



104 AUSTRIA. 

threw him into a dungeon. The emperor Joseph If., 
having been informed of this circumstance, caused his 
ministers to demand reparation from the king of Poland, 
whorepHed, that it did not depend on him, but on his per- 
manent council. The emperor, not satisfied with this eva- 
sive answer, sent a party of two hundred dragoons to 
bring back both the Starost and the serf to Zamoic, where 
they were taken before an Austrian court of justice. The 
Starost was sentenced to pay a thousand crowns as an in- 
demnity to the peasant, and a fine of five thousand to the 
Austrian exchequer. The hundred blows which he had 
inflicted on the peasant were repaid to him on his own 
person, and he was sent back to his own estate with all 
due respect. 

Galicia, like Poland in general, abounds in wood, but 
stone, particularly freestone, is very scarce. Hence log 
huts are the general habitations of the peasantry. Archi- 
tecture of course is still in its infancy. Every peasant in 
fact is his own mason and carpenter. Provided with a 
hatchet, he enters the nearest wood, fells as many trees as 
he wants, carries them to the site of his future dwelling, 
and sphts each trunk into two beams. Four large stones 
mark the corner of an oblong square, and constitute the 
base upon which the hut is raised, by placing the beams 
in horizontal layers, with the fiat sides inward ; a sort of 
mortice being cut in each about half a foot from the end to 
receive the connecting beams. A kind of cage is thus 
constructed, usually about twelve feet by six, and moss is 
thrust between the logs to exclude the wind and rain. 
Two openings are left, one for the door, and the other, 
with the aid of a few panes of glass or a couple of sheets 
of oiled paper, forms a window. At one of the corners 
within are placed four upright posts, round which are en- 
twined some twigs covered with mud or clay to form a 
square area, in which is built an oven of the same materi- 
als ; and this, when hard and dry, serves the peasant for 
kitchen, chimney, stove and bed. The roof is closed in 
with rafters and twigs bedaubed with a thick coating of 
clay, and covered over with a close warm thatch extending 
over both gable ends. To finish this rude hut, the walls 



AUSTRIA. 105 

are sometimes extended a few feet in a still rougher style, 
to form a sort of vestibule, which serves also for cart- 
house or stable, and occasionally a second is added to serve 
as a barn. In the whole building there is perhaps scarcely 
a bolt, lock, hinge or any article of metal. Yet this is the 
dwelling of a Polish serf, and contains himself and his fa- 
mily and all his goods and chattels. 

If the proprietor happens to be a little more affluent, his 
hut may contain an oven of glazed earthenware, and two 
bed-rooms with boarded floors, the walls whitewashed, and 
the doors secured with locks. If he be a Jew, the house 
is still larger ; the roof better, and covered with shingles 
instead of thatch ; the windows are a degree wider ; and 
if he be an innkeeper, there is a long stable, with a coach- 
entrance at each end, which serves for barn, stable and 
cow-house. 

The gentry give to their wooden house greater capaci- 
ty, and a form a little more symmetrical. The walls within 
are perhaps stuccoed and washed with distemper colours, 
and externally plastered and whitewashed. The door of 
entrance occupies the centre and is covered with a rude 
porch, raised on four posts, and the front may contain three 
or four windows. 

Such are the elementary parts of a Polish village, and 
nothing under heaven can be more miserable, dirty and 
wretched, than the whole assemblage externally as well as 
internally. All the inns in Galicia are kept by Jews, and 
both these and the post-houses are always situated in the 
pubHc squares, which occupy the centre of every town. 
These squares are also the market-places for horned cat- 
tle, and have never been cleansed since their first formations 
hence they are absolute quagmires of filth, the putrid ef- 
fluvia from which are almost insufferable. 

Happy, says Dr. Neale, is the traveller, the dimensions 
of whose carriage admit of his occupying it during the 
night ! what abominations will he not escape ! He relates, 
that though his companion and himself carried with them 
into these Jewish inns fur skins of their own to sleep on, 
yet the noisome smells from the damp earthen floors were 
frequently so powerful and disgusting as to keep them 



106 AUSTRIA. 

awake ; and there were a thousand other nameless annoy- 
ances more easily imagined than described. 

From the centre of the roof of these houses is always 
suspended a large brass chandelier, with seven branches : 
this is the sabbath lamp, which is regularly lighted every 
Friday evening at sun-set, when all the fires are carefully 
extinguished, and not re-kindled till the same hour the next 
evening. Underneath it stands a long table soiled with 
grease, occupying the middle of the apartment ; around it 
are ranged several wooden benches, with one or two rot- 
ten chairs, and a cushion stuffed with hay. In the huts of 
the peasants a sort of shovel, slung from the roof is loaded 
with tallow : a lock of flax is placed upon it, and being 
lighted serves for a lamp. 

The best food to be obtained at these inns is nearly as 
disgusting to strangers as the lodging they afford ; and the 
only thing to be commended in Galicia is the state of the 
high-roads ; these are excellent, of a good breadth, weli 
levelled, and kept in admirable repair. But these, and 
every thing else that is not absolutely abominable, are the 
creation of the Austrian government ; for previously to the 
first partition of Poland, in 1772, they were as miserable 
as the inns. 

In no country in Europe have the Jews obtained such 
firm footing as in Poland, where Casimir the Great, at the 
instigation of his Jewish mistress, Esther, took them, four 
centuries ago, into his ^especial favour and protection. 
Enjoying privileges and immunities which they possess in 
no other region, with opportunities of engaging deeply in 
traffic and accumulating immense fortunes ; masters of all 
the specie and most of the commerce of Poland ; mort- 
gagees of the land, and sometimes masters of the glebe — 
the Jewish interlopers appear to be more the lords of the 
country then even the Poles themselves. 

All the distilleries throughout Poland are farmed out to 
Jews, who pay large sums to the nobles for the privilege 
of poisoning and intoxicating their serfs. Mr. Burnett 
states, that when he was in Poland, a company of Jews 
paid to Count Zaymoski the sum of three thousand pounds 
sterling annually for the mere privilege of distilhngspiritu« 



AUSTRIA. 



107 



ous liquors on the largest of his estates, which, to be sure, 
comprehends at least four thousand square miles. Hence 
some estimate may be formed of the enormous quantity 
that is consumed. 

When Joseph II. obtained possession of Galicia, that 
judicious prince perceived the necessity of limiting the pri- 
vileges of the Jews. He took from them the power of 
cultivating the lands belonging to the serfs subject to con- 
tributions, and prohibited them from keeping inns and dis- 
tilling spirits: but at his death these regulations ceased to 
be enforced, and the Jews have since been silently regain- 
ing their former influence. 

The inns, as has been already observed, arc now alto- 
gether in their hands, as well as the fabrication of ardent 
spirits and liqueurs. They have all the traffic in peltry, the 
precious metals, diamonds and other jewels, and they are 
also the principal agents in the corn-trade. Of late years 
many of these Jewish families who had amassed great 
wealth by commerce, having affected to abjure their reli- 
gion and to embrace the Catholic faith, have been enno- 
bled and permitted to purchase extensive estates : still 
true, however, to their own nation, they have built large 
towns and villages on these estates, and peopled them ex- 
clusively with Jewish families ; for from a singular instinct 
the Poles seem to detest their fellowship, and generally 
herd togetherin their own miastas. 

The enjoyment of liberty and civil rights seems to have 
produced a strong effect on the physical constitution and 
physiognomy of the Hebrew race, and to have bestowed 
on them a dignity and energy of character, which we may 
look for in vain in the Jews of other countries. The men, 
clothed in long black robes reaching to their ankles, and 
sometimes adorned in front with silver agraffes, their 
heads covered with fur caps, their chesnut or auburn locks 
parted in front, and falling gracefully on their shoulders 
in spiral curls, display much manly beauty. In feminine 
beauty, the women are likewise distinguished; but beauty is 
not uncommon among the Jewesses of other countries. 
When looking at them, says Dr. Neale, seated, according 
to their usual custom, on a wooden sofa, by the doors of 



108 AUSTRIA. 

their houses, on the evenings of their sabbath, dressed in^ 
their richest stuffs and' pearl head-dresses, I have imagined 
that I could trace a strong resemblance between their pre- 
sent head-ornaments and those sculptured on the heads of 
the Egyptian sphynxes. Nor do I think it at all improba- 
ble, that the dresses of the Hebrews of both sexes in Po- 
land, are at this day nearly the same as those of their an- 
cestors when they quitted the " house of bondage." 

Withouthaving visited Poland, and had ocular demonstra- 
tion of the filth and abominable uncleanliness of the inhabi- 
tants, it seems difficult to believe the accounts which have 
been given of them. The floors of the houses of the lower 
classes consists of clay or earth always damp, and from 
which the heat of the stove draws up a perpetual vapour 
of the most offensive odour, which, as their windows are 
never opened, circulates continually. Both sexes sleep 
together like pigs on the straw or furs, upon the sides and 
tops of their ovens, without undressing themselves. They 
eat few vegetables, and their diet consists of every putres- 
cent animal food, with bad bread, diluted copiously with 
spirituous liquors. Such a diet necessarily predisposes 
them to imbibe readily every contagious poison, which, 
when once received, is propagated among them with the 
rapidity of combustion itself. Thus it is related, that when 
the plague was brought into the country in 1770, in conse- 
quence of the hostiUties between the Turks and Russians, 
all the peasants of a village belonging to Prince Adam 
Czartoriski were swept off by it in one day. 

Generally without medical assistance, the wretched 
creatures are abandoned to their fate ; and such is the cal- 
lous selfishness of the great majority of the Polish nobles, 
that instead of attempting to meliorate the condition of their 
serfs, all their ingenuity is exhausted in ministering to their 
debaucheries and increasing their own overgrown incomes, 
by throwing the temptations of drunkenness in their way. 
Bishops and nobles are joint proprietors of all the inns, and 
the greater the drunkenness of the peasantry, the larger 
are the returns to the lord of the soil. 

THE END. 



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